Namibian swimmer with a disability, Mateus Angula achieved a personal best record at the France 2023 World Series held in Limoges, France on Friday.

The event serves as the final opportunity for athletes to meet the Minimum Qualification Standard (MQS) ahead of the Manchester 2023 Para Swimming World Championships scheduled for 31 July to 06 August 2023 in the United Kingdom.

Over 144 athletes from 29 nations are competing in multi-class races at the France 2023 World Series.

On the opening day of the championship, Angula competed in the men’s S6 freestyle category, where he finished third in his heat with a time of one minute, 44 seconds and 37 tenses (01:44.37), an improvement from his previous personal best of 01:47.07.

The Namibian swimmer competed in the 400m freestyle for the first time and set his personal best time of 08:02.83. He finished fifth in that heat.

In an interview with Nampa on Saturday, Angula’s coach Sonja Lindemeier said she was happy with his achievements as they are working towards improving his times.

“He just started with strengthening exercises at Windhoek Sport Pro Academy. I am happy with what he achieved in France. Our mark is to get him to swim under one minute, 40 seconds in the 100m freestyle,” she said, adding that the swimmer competed in the 400m freestyle for the first time and he did much better than he does in training, where he swims 08:45.

Angula is expected back in the pool on Sunday, where he will compete in the heats of the 50m freestyle.

The France 2023 World Series concludes on Sunday.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency