Namibian swimmers Alexander Skinner and Ronan Wantenaar have set their sights on the swimming Olympic qualifying times when they compete in the upcoming 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.

Skinner and Wantenaar are the sole athletes representing Namibia in swimming at the competition set to start on 28 July 2022.

Skinner, who is based in the United States of America where he studies, will compete in the 100 metre (m) freestyle and 50m fly, while Wantenaar who is based in Thailand on a Namibia National Olympic Committee Olympic Solidarity Scholarship will compete in the 50m and 100m breaststroke.

In an interview with Nampa on Monday, Skinner said he is ready for the competition.

“Today I felt good in the water and I am excited. I have been preparing for this competition for a while now and with the amount of training I have done, I think I will do well,” he said.

He aims to be in the top 16 in the 50m and 100m freestyle.

“Compared to the first time when I went to the world champs, I am not intimidated. Come competition day when the adrenaline kicks in and when on those blocks I will give it my all to reach the semi-final and finals,” he said.

Wantenaar also said his personal goal is to swim Olympic qualifying times at the games.

“I just came out of some competitions where I swam my personal bests and when the competition comes I will give it my all to swim times that will qualify me for the 2024 Olympics,” Wantenaar said.

The team coach, Janis Stergiadis, added that the swimmers at the Commonwealth Games are the best in the country and he is hopeful that they will deliver.

“At the moment we want to target the Olympic Games qualification times. As for Ronan, we want him to do his best times, but with Skinner we have been working together for a long time and qualifying for the Olympics is the main target,” Stergiadis said.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency