| Eliot Rakotondramanga wins titles and sets three national records at the Madagascar championship in Ampefiloha. |
Three swimmers shone during the national long course championship in Ampefiloha which ended on Saturday. Three national records and eight best performances were recorded.
First conclusive test. Three Madagascar records and eight best performances were recorded during the four days of the Madagascar 50-meter pool swimming championships.
The national summit took place from May 1 to 4 at the swimming pool of the National Sports Academy in Ampefiloha. French expatriate Eliot Rakotondramanga, aged 21, who plays at the Villejuif swimming club in the Paris region, was the only record holder in the championship. In addition to the national titles, he signed three new Madagascar records. With a Malagasy father and mother, Eliot participated for the first time in the Madagascar championship after obtaining his Malagasy nationality. The swimmer from Saint-Michel opened the counter on the first day of May 1 by setting the first record in the 50m backstroke in 27.27.
The old time was the work of Mickael Herinaivo Rasolonjatovo of Saint-Michel, 27.50 carried out in 2020. Eliot updated another on May 2. He once again improved Mickael Rasolonjatovo’s old time in the 100m backstroke of 57.93 against 59.35 which dates from 2020. And on May 3, Eliot shattered the old record in the 100m freestyle of the expatriate Erick Rajhonson achieved in 2009, 0:54.27 compared to 0:54.18.
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“Now that I have Malagasy nationality, my ambition is to take part in the Malagasy championships (…) Otherwise, my ambition is to participate in the African championships which should be held in Madagascar next year, and I would like to make a title at home,” says Eliot Rakotondramanga. This national summit was also marked by the feat of the youngster, Sampaniaina Glorio Precious Koty. This East Coast Swimming Club (CNCE) swimmer has bettered five best performances in the 10 to 11 year old category. Glorio achieved three MPs on the second day, in this case in 200m medley (2:54.25), 100m backstroke (1:22.66) and 400m freestyle (5:28.79).
From the first day, the young Tamatavian swimmer updated the MP in 200m freestyle (2:33.15) and signed the new MP in 100m freestyle, 1:11.00. The swimmer from the Sainte Jeanne d’Arc du Boeny Tendry club Tiavina Rakotobe achieved a hat-trick by updating three MPs in the 14-15 year old category, including in the 50m freestyle on Saturday (25:11). Friday Tendry Tiavina achieved another in the 50m butterfly (0:27.33).
He achieved his first best performance in the 50m breaststroke (0:32.63) on the second day of May 2. The swimmers were able to express themselves better on the second and third days because it was colder on the first and fourth days.
Serge Rasanda
