DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA will be represented by Cherlisa Komba in the Open Water Swimming contest of the Special Olympics World Summer Games scheduled from October 16 to 24 in Santiago, Chile next year.

The 10 year old intellectual disabled athlete claimed the opportunity after scooping the first position during a 500 meters freestyle Open Water Swimming competition organised by Special Olympics Tanzania (SOT) and Jou Ultra Sports held at Mbezi Beach in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.

She managed to outsmart other five intellectual disabled swimmers (girls) who were also eager to win the golden opportunity of representing the country at the world stage.

Her excitement after being declared as the winner was unmatched as she plastered a smiling face, a gesture which was positively received by her colleagues, parents and guardians who attended the event.

“I am very happy to see my child earning this privilege of flying high our flag at the Special Olympics World Games… honestly, her hard working spirit and determination has paid off,” said Ms Pendo Massawe, Cherlisa’s mother.

She added that Cherlisa take extra time to engage in swimming sessions with the help of well trained coaches who have played a big role to sharpen her swimming skills.

“These children (intellectual disabled) are very talented…I urge parents and guardians to always give them time to engage in sports and socialise with their friends because they learn many things through active participation,” Ms Pendo said.

On his part, SOT National Director Charles Rays revealed that with the support from Jou Ultra Sports, they will arrange several open water swimming programs to enhance Cherlisa’s performance before the Chile’s assignment.

“Now that we have our national representative in the Open Water Swimming category, we will create several strategies to make her very competitive so that we can be able to win top awards,” he said.

According to him, Tanzania will feature three sporting disciplines in the Special Olympics World Games which are football (girls), marathon and Open Water Swimming.

Again, the SOT boss highlighted that they will continue to cooperate with other sporting institutions for the sake of promoting inclusion culture between people with intellectual disabilities and their Unified Partners.

Jou Ultra Sports Chief Executive Officer Julius Maganga commended SOT for their efforts to promote awareness on the importance of engaging people with intellectual disabilities in sports.

“They are doing a great job because we know that some parents and guardians of these people are reluctant to let them play and congregate with their friends despite their abilities to contribute meaningfully towards social and economic development,” he said.