Luanda - Swimmers Henrique Mascarenhas and Lia Lima are the Angolan representatives of the sport at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, to take place from July 26th to August 11th, in France.
In men and women category, the country's competitors deserved selection for the first time, within the scope of universality, for currently being the best national swimmers and the leaders of the World Aquatics National Points Ranking, with 741 and 690 points, respectively.
Henrique, who will compete in the 100 million freestyle, took over the leadership of the national ranking in the last three weeks, held by swimmer Salvador Gordo, with a double record in the 10 million freestyle, of 51.81, in Portugal, and then of 51.78, registered at the International Meeting of Italy.
In turn, Lia Lima, who will compete in the 100m butterfly, has regularly dominated the national list over the last four years, as well as being the only swimmer to win a silver medal in the Absolute African Swimming Championship, in the 200m butterfly, with the mark of 20.2.22.
In the 2020 edition, in Tokyo, Japan, Angola competed with Salvador Gordo and Catarina Sousa.
The two athletes will be accompanied by coach Artur Henrique, who, in addition to being part of the technical management of the Angolan Federation (FAN), has been a driving force, resulting in surpassing records, both at the level of zone IV and on the continent.
It was under his technical command that, after 1998, the country won another silver medal, 26 years later, in the African Championship held for the first time in Angola.
Angola will also be represented by referee Kimbo Kiambata, whose profile is crowned with passage in the Open Water World Championship, 2023, in Fukuoka, Japan.
JAD/VAB/MRA/jmc
