INTERVIEW: Three Kenyan swimmers speak on their athletic journeys

Swimming is a sports event with many medals, and discerning countries use it to make impact on the final medal table at major competitions. According to the vice president of Swimming Africa, Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, a typical swimmer commits 50 weeks of 52 weeks in a year to practising.

Premium Times spoke with three Kenyan student swimmers about their lives, careers, and pursuits, which involve challenges and successes in their chosen sport.

Victoria Okumu, Jesse Okumu, and Omar Ibrahim, students of the United States International University Africa (USIU-Africa), Nairobi, Kenya, came for the just-ended 2024 FASU Games and spoke about their first involvement and future activities in the sport during an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES.

Victoria Okumu is a first-year student of film production; Jesse Okumu is studying computer science; and Omar Ibrahim is a final-year student of International Business Administration. The three swimmers won 15 medals during their contest with other schools.

Excerpt:

PT: We will discuss your participation in the FASU game and the medals you won. Swimming, an elite sport, is not so popular in Africa because of the facilities. What influenced you? What prompted your decision to choose to swim?

Victoria: My sister inspired me. She started swimming before me, so I just wanted to be like her.

Omar: It’s a bit of a funny story for me. When I was a bit younger, my mom forced me to swim when I was about 10 years old. I didn’t like it so much, but I had to do it. About two years later, I started to fall in love with it.

Jesse: I started swimming at a very young age. At first, I started as a hobby, then later, I picked it up as something serious, like a sport activity where I get to train to be successful. I was about 10–11 years old then. My primary school had a swimming pool, so we were opportune to use the school’s pool. The school played a significant role in my journey as a swimmer.

PT: What were the memory lanes for you when you started learning how to swim?

Omar: I think when I started winning medals, it was very memorable for me, as it was a big achievement in swimming.

PT: Omar, when was your first medal?

Omar: I was 13 years old when I won my first medal at the Mombassa Academy.

PT: Victoria, as a lady, there are times when swimming, menstrual cramps, mood swings, and several other things present challenges. So, how have you been able to cope?

Victoria: Okay, as a lady in this sport, you just have to find a way to navigate around it, honestly. It’s hard, yes; we get mood swings and cramps. We even do take it out on our coaches and teammates, but we get fine back. We just have to get around it, and there is a support system, so we can be okay.

PT: Let’s talk about the challenges in the sport and the emotional breakdown. What are the challenges you faced on your journey as a swimmer?

Jesse: When I was new to the sport, I struggled a lot because it wasn’t something I was used to. Waking in the morning to train was something I really struggled with for a while. Also, swimming isn’t like other sports, where you get to see results immediately, it takes consistency and diligence. Some people had to give up on swimming because they weren’t seeing the fruit of their efforts immediately. Swimming has really taught me to be patient.

PT: For training, how were you able to find your way when you started? When did you even start swimming?

Victoria: I started pretty young. I started when I was three, and my first competition was when I was four. In the beginning, I liked it because I was just a casual swimmer, but obviously, as my career developed, I had to be very serious. I had to pick up morning swimming, from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., which I did not like. So I had to train from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Jesse: Yeah, my family was very supportive. You know, if you really want to develop, you’d get to join a club, buy some equipment, and so on. My family was there to support me financially, emotionally, and mentally. They really played a big role in my development at this stage.

PT: 5 a.m. is quite early and can be very dark, so do you get to sleep over at the training complex, or do you go from home in the morning, Victoria?

Victoria: No, my parents take us there in the morning, and after training, we go home, eat, go to school, and return around 5 p.m. again, with the same activities. There is no social life, just a regular routine of home, training, and school. Actually, I wake up at 4 a.m. for morning training, get driven by my parents to the old high school (Eucharist International and Be Nairobi), where I train, and then they drive me back. Now, I drive myself as I’m older.

Jerry: So, you owe your success to the influence of your sister and support from your parents?

Victoria: Yes.

PT: For you, Omar, as a guy, you must have wanted to play football, be like Victor Wanyama and a couple of Kenyan players that have played in the past, or perhaps look at other sports like athletics. Picking swimming, was it for fun even after being forced, and when did you see a future in the sport?

Omar: Well, I used to play football. I play the defensive role. But I did see a future in swimming as I saw the talent I had in it as I continued training. So from there, I just made the decision myself to stick to swimming, which is better for me. Yeah, football is popular, and athletics is also popular, but swimming is gaining momentum, and people are starting to talk about swimming. You could see it’s growing bigger, so it makes sense for me to stick to swimming.

PT: Regarding lifestyle, you’ve been to several countries, but this is probably your first time in Nigeria. Talking about Nigeria, taking the five-hour flight down here, what was the experience after getting there, culture-wise?

Victoria: I would say the way people speak is quite different. The guys here are more direct about how they feel about a certain topic, unlike in Kenya, where we like to manoeuvre with words. For instance, our taxi driver was talking about someone, and he said the person can’t swim because she was fat.

They don’t keep words or try to limit the effect or play around with them; they tell you as it seems. They are very straightforward and blunt without minding to minimise the harm effect, perhaps. It’s quite crazy. The heat is also very hot here. Also, the food—I’m just trying to navigate the different spices.

PT: When was the first time you travelled out of Kenya?

Victoria: When I was 12, we travelled to Egypt for a competitioxqs 8xS. I actually didn’t win a medal there, and I was even the youngest, but it was a good experience. It’s really nice to travel out or see people who are way better than you and more experienced in the game.

PT: When was the first time you won a medal?

Victoria: I win medals all the time, but I was 10 when I won my first. It was in South Africa.

Jesse: Well, that was a long time ago, around 2015, when I was just starting. It wasn’t a big one, though, just one in our community, and I won bronze there. It was a really big one for me because I won my very first medal there. The feeling was really good. Internationally, my first experience was in 2017, when we travelled to Uganda for a high school competition. Although it wasn’t how I expected the outcome, I was just upcoming, not yet so experienced. Also, the exposure was really wonderful.

PT: Omar and Jesse, how did you experience culture shock 8coming to Nigeria for the first time?

Omar: I think the main thing would be the food difference. I think we could barely find simil8ar meals, and I still prefer my Kenyan foods.

Jesse: I think for me, I didn’t expect it to be this hot when we landed. I have heard people say Nigeria is hot, but I felt it could be something I was used to, something regular. That was the first thing that I saw differently. I was kind of shocked; it was really hot. Well, about the experience, it wasn’t really bad, but it was a bit slow. I feel Nigerians are a bit slow, even at the airport. It took some time before we were cleared. The experience, in general, was good.

PT: Do you think being an athlete has made you more diversity-minded and made you try so many things, and have these challenged you?

Omar: It has really made us experience several different things and cultures, and I think it’s nice because, for my personality, I like to try new things, to experience new ways and cultures.

PT: Aside from the food, what other things?

Omar: Nothing much, though. It’s a bit similar to home, almost as if we were in Uganda.

PT: When was the first time you travelled out of Kenya?

Omar: For swimming, it was around 2015, and I was 14 years old. We went to Zimbabwe for a competition, and I won two medals.

PT: Looking at the goals in the future with swimming, what are the things you still hope to achieve? I know there are many things, but what is the next goal?

Victoria: Let’s say the World University Games, but for now, I want to put my effort into getting back into the game. I have been training but took a long break because of school. So I would love to put competition aside and focus on training.

Omar: The next goal will be to go to Los Angeles in 2028 for the Olympics. As soon as I’m done here, I resume back to training, push myself as much as I can for the next two years, and see how well I go to being qualified for the Olympics.

Jesse: Well, I think for now, I still want to focus on getting better and faster as I prepare for the other competitions coming up in the country. That’s my goal: prepare to qualify for the competitions and, hopefully, the next Olympics.

PT: What level are you in school?

Victoria: I’m in my second year.

Omar: I’m in my final year. After my final year, I go full-fledged into swimming at least for a year or two and try to achieve my goals, training day and night.

PT: Committing a full year to swimming after school. How do you intend to find funding?

Omar: I have been funding myself even in the university. I run content creation and also help run some businesses with my family.

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PT: What do you do outside swimming? How do you spend your day and unwind?

Victoria: There is school, and I also play golf and run as well. I hang out a while with my friends in school, but not so much because swimming takes a lot of my time.

PT: What kind of car do you drive, Benz?

Victoria: I wish. I have driven one before, my dad’s, and I love it. It’s fast, and it’s a Benz. The experience in it is like biting an apple.

Omar: Yeah, I drive, but not a Benz; it’s a Mitsubishi.

PT: Thanks for your time.