FORMER African 100 and 200 metres swimming champion, Ngozi Mammah, says until states devise ingenious ways of harvesting the swimming talents that abound in their domain, the bountiful medals the sport offers will continually elude the country.While calling on state governors to emulate Governor Rotimi Amaechi in developing spectacular swimming facilities in particular and sports facilities in general, he also advised them to, in the interim, improvise with their natural endowments in order to give swimming a foothold in their respective states.Mammah, a former national champion, said the absence of swimming from most school sports competitions in the country was the prime reason the sport has remained in its infancy.According to the All Africa Games gold medallist, 'because swimming is not included in most school sports events, it is very difficult for coaches to go out to recruit swimming talents from these events as it happens in most other sports. This is simply the reason the sport is not growing at the rate it should.'Mammah, whose African record in the 100 metres breaststroke event still stands, continued: 'Another reason the sport is still trailing others is the nature of the facilities the sport uses - swimming pools. Over 95 per cent of schools in this country, from primary to university - do not have swimming pools. Because of this, inclusion of swimming in school sports is not feasible.'However, the emergence of some private schools that are blessed with swimming pools is very encouraging as swimming is one of the sports where best results are guaranteed if practiced during growing up/learning years.'Stressing that governors' vision and what they want to achieve in the area of sports play a very important role in the height a sport like swimming can attain in their states, she lamented: 'Very many states in the country do not have functional swimming pools.'But if a governor has the vision of taking swimming to greater heights, he will always look inwards and improvise, especially in the riverine states.'Accepted that construction and maintenance of swimming pools cost a lot of money, more so in our country where states governments have very poor grades when it comes to maintenance of structures/facilities in their domain, a state like Delta is doing a lot when it comes to using what God has blessed it with to improvise and boost swimming.However, to states without streams and sundry water bodies that can be resorted to, Mammah advised: 'They should partner hotels as a form of improvisation rather than fold their arms and sit down pending when state-owned swimming pools crop up. Doing so will only ensure that the swimming talents there continue to blight away.
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