Siphiwe Baleka’s Sorcery Dominates 1st International Masters Swimming Championships

public.jpeg

Siphiwe Baleka’s Sorcery Dominates First Day of Competition at 1st International Masters Swimming Championships

Cairo, Egypt - Siphiwe Baleka dominated the competition at the 1st International Masters Swimming Championships held at the Heliopolis Sporting Club in Al Shorouq, Egypt just outside of Cairo. He won the 50 M Backstroke, the 50 M Freestyle and the 50 M Breaststroke, all in times faster than the Egyptian National Record for the Men’s 45-49 age group. Baleka won all three races by more than two body lengths.

It wasn’t his performance in the pool, however, that received the most attention. All eyes were on Baleka because he painted his body in traditional African decorations. Perhaps this was the first time that anyone had ever displayed such African culture in the history of competitive swimming. When asked why he did this, Baleka said, “DNA testing shows that my Balanta ancestors were the first people to settle in what is called Egypt today long before the pyramids were built. I wanted  to honor them.” 

public.jpeg

Baleka was the lone swimmer from the United States to compete against 394 swimmers from ten countries. When asked why he chose to compete in this event, Baleka said, 

“I have wanted to be a professional athlete since I was a boy. Just because I am 48, I don’t have to give up on that dream. A lot more money is coming into swimming now. World ranked athletes get salaries. Now there is the ISL. Even para-Olympians get major sponsorships. So why not masters swimmers? I want to travel around the world and compete against the best, too. Like Michael Andrews, I want to win all the sprint races in all four strokes. Like Michael Phelps, I want to win 8 gold medals at a meet like Masters World Championships. So I have to find a way to do it. I didn’t have enough money to go to both the FINA Masters World Championships in Gwanju, Korea and this event this year, so I had to make a choice. Here you have an international championship on the African continent and I am the only black swimmer. There’s something wrong with that and we all know why. I decided my presence and world class performance would be more significant on the African continent. MySwimPro let me use their platform to promote a fundraising campaign. My fans raised $3,000 so I could attend. The meet organizers hosted me and paid my in-country expenses. Arena donated a Powerskin suit and other equipment. I wanted to show that not only can blacks swim, they can win. I think I have made a statement here.”

Indeed, Baleka delivered world class performances. His time in the 50 M Backstroke, 30.52 would have been fifth in Gwanju. His 50 M Free time of 24.96 would have been second and his 50 M Breast time of 30.70 would have been 4th. “Those times are not too far from my best, so I am pleased,” Baleka said.

Baleka has three more races tomorrow including the 100 Free, 100 Breast and 50 Fly.