Grand Canyon Teammates Brunlehner, Muteti Will Represent Kenya at 2023 Worlds

The Kenya Swimming Federation, currently under the leadership of the World Aquatics-appointed Stabilization Committee, has announced rosters for a number of upcoming summer championships, including the World Championships and World Junior Championships.

Where qualifications standards were not earned, swimmers were selected based on the highest World Aquatics/FINA Points swims from last weekend’s selection meet in Nairobi.

The team for the World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, will include two men and two women, all chosen under the Universality selections. The women’s team will include Grand Canyon University teammates Maria Brunlehner, 23, who won a bronze medal on the women’s 400 medley relay at the 2019 Africa Games, and Olympian Emily Muteti, 24.

Muteti finished 43rd at the Olympics in the 50 free in 26.31. It is Brunlehner, though, who is the Kenyan Record holder in that event with a 26.14 from 2018. She owns 13 Kenyan Records.

Only one of the two will be able to swim the 50 free at the World Championships.

The men’s team for Worlds will be made up of Commonwealth Games finalist Maina Monyo, 19, who trains in Canada at Simon Fraser University, and Ridhwan Abubakar, 22, who set the Kenyan Record in the 400 free last year. Abubakar trains at Plymouth University in the UK.

That means no Danilo Rosafio, who was the country’s male representative at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Kenya has never won a medal at the World Aquatics Championships in any discipline. The country’s most-recognizable swimmers are the Dunford brothers, including two-time Olympian Jason, who finished 5th in the 100 fly at the 2008 Games and won a Commonwealth Games gold in the 50 fly in 2010.

Team Kenya

Commonwealth Youth Games -August Trinidad and Tobago

Girls 

• Sarah Mose 659
• Reserve: Lubaina Islam 562

Boys

• Mutinda Aker 590
• Reserve: Nathan Matimu 588

World Junior Swimming Championships- July in Israel

Girls

1. Bianca Jamal
2. Lubaina Ali
3. Audrey Chebet
4. Sarah Mose
5. Antisha Suna
6. Angel D. Samoie

Boys

1. Shaka Gikunda
2. Mutinda Aker
3. Ali A. Nandy
4. Joshua Masaka
5. Nathan Matimu
6. Haniel Khuduoli

World Championships in Japan

Girls 

1. Maria Brunlehner 742
2. Emily Muteti 713

Boys 

1. Maina Monyo 676
2. Ridhwan Abubakar 666