Jason Dunford

Kenyans! We love the holidays. More specifically travelling to the coast to relax and swim, even though we don’t really swim but onja the maji kidogo. You get the picture right?

Well, there are some Kenyans whose daily routines kick off with a dive in the pool, a few – or several laps before they proceed with their schedules.

Jason Dunford began swimming at five years old. His early mornings found him in the pool before class and even after school, he’d be found at swimming practice while at Kenton College. He mastered all four swimming strokes at a young age but found his strengths in freestyle and butterfly sprints. With more practice came more victories and as a result, greater recognition to the potential Jason had as a swimmer.

The 7^th FINA World Championships in 2004 was Jason’s first major competition where he qualified for a number of races but failed to advance past the heats. Down but not out he returned to his tertiary studies at Stanford University where he was enrolled on a swimming scholarship. Constant training saw Jason qualify in 2006 to the Commonwealth Games. However a date collision with his exam timetable prevented his attendance, studies came first! Later on that year Jason was in West Africa at the Africa Swimming Championships in Senegal where he bagged a total of six medals, becoming the first Kenyan swimmer to dominate in the pool at a continental level. With two gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 50m backstroke, three silvers in the 50m butterfly, 100m and 200m freestyle and a bronze in the 50m freestyle, Jason was at the top of his game and shining for Kenya.

At the 2007 World Championships, Jason set a new African record in the 100m butterfly sprints. Later on that year at The All Africa Games in Algeria, Jason’s speed was eminent and he won three gold medals in various butterfly sprints, two silvers in backstroke and freestyle and three bronze medals in two freestyle and one backstroke event. His victory was not left unrewarded. That year, Jason Dunford was honoured here at home and received award for the Sportsman of the Year.

Paving a path for more swimmers to come, Jason’s strength and improvement in the sport secured him a place at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 under the 100m butterfly and freestyle races. Although he missed an opportunity to advance to the freestyle semi-finals, Jason set a new national record of 49:06. As for butterfly, Jason proceeded to the semi-finals finishing at 51:14, the fastest by an African at the Olympiad.

His proudest moment may have been at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where he led in the Kenyan team of athletes into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stadium in London. We celebrate swimming legend Jason Dunford, for swimming his way to numerous victories and being a true Kenyan in the world of sports.

So next time you find yourself by a pool, at the coast how about you take to the water and show some true Kenyan style?

#KeWachezaji #OurFlagBearers