Kenyan’s teenage swimming sensation Haniel Kudwoli breaks national record in Dubai

Kenya’s swimming sensation Haniel Kudwoli has set a new national record after an impressive performance at the Speedo Invitational Short Course meet in Dubai on Saturday.

The 17-year-old set a new Kenyan record of 29.45 seconds in the 50m Breaststroke at the 26th edition of the event, breaking the previous record of 29.72 seconds set by Jason Dunford on October 29, 2010.

Kudwoli finished second at the event behind England’s Oscar Bilbao, who clocked 28.50 seconds, with Irish swimmer Omar Tillal in third place after managing 30.08 seconds.

Kudwoli’s exploits earned him a place in the 50m Freestyle finals while he will also feature in the 100m Freestyle and 100m Breaststroke on Sunday.

The swimmer signed up for the Speedo Invitational after missing out on the Junior World Championships.

He was one of eight youngsters whose parents lost an appeal to feature at the Junior World Championships, having been denied by the World Aquatics following Kenya’s four-year ban before it was lifted in October.

His participation at the two-day event in Dubai was not plain sailing, however, as his parents had to fundraise online for finances to enable him make the trip.

Kenya was banned by World Aquatics in 2019 after the Kenya Swimming Federation (KSF) failed to meet election deadlines.

The KSF also faced allegations of discrimination while selecting swimmers for national, regional and continental competitions.

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