Kenyan Teen Haniel Kudwoli Downs Jason Dunford National Mark in SCM 50 Breast
Kenyan teenager Haniel Kudwoli this week took down a national record that had belonged to Jason Dunford since 2010.
Kudwoli was competing in the 26th Speedo Invitational Short Course Meet in Dubai. Swimming for Nairobi-based Otters Swim Club, Kudwoli went 29.52 in prelims and then 29.45 in finals to finish second.
It erased the mark of 29.72 that Dunford had set as the national mark back in 2010. Though breaststroke was not the main event for Dunford, a butterflier and sprint freestyler who won gold in the 50 fly at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, he does remain one of the nation’s top swimmers all-time. Dunford is a two-time Olympian who swam for Stanford and was Kenya flag-bearer at the 2012 Olympics.
“Breaking a record is no small thing, especially from a great swimmer like Jason,” Kudwoli said in an interview with The Star. “I am now looking forward to winning medals at the African event by beating the top swimmers on the continent.”
Kudwoli also finished fourth in the 100 breast in a time of 1:05.42, which buzzes within a second of the SCM national mark of 1:04.51 set at the 2014 World Championships by Micah Fernandes.
Kudwoli was unable to swim at this fall’s World Aquatics World Junior Championships while the Kenyan Swimming Federation sorted out its suspension by the world governing body. Those issues have since been resolved and the ban lifted.