Sanmoogan aims to ‘Medal’ at her second Olympics in Tokyo

May 19, 2021 Sports

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Kaieteur News –
By Sean Devers
At 23, National Swimmer Jamila Sanmoogan will be aiming to ‘medal’

in the Tokyo Olympics from July 23 to August 8, 2021 after competing in the Women’s 50 meters’ freestyle in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, Brazil.
Speaking about her experience in her first Olympics, Jamila said I was phenomenal one despite placing 63rd overall.
“I got to meet some World class Athletes and also got to compete with some of them which is a big thing. I had fun in Rio,” added Jamila who, along with Hannibal Gaskin represented Guyana in Swimming in Rio.
Sanmoogan and Andrew Fowler will represent Guyana at the Olympic Games in Tokyo after picking up the two FINA universality spots.
Last month, the International Swimming Federation (FINA) wrote to the GOA and the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA) informing them of the failure of any Guyanese swimmer to qualify for the Games in Tokyo, hence Sanmoogan and Fowler landed two universality spots.
Universality spots allows a nation with no Olympic swimming qualifier to enter up to one male and one female in the Olympics – typically, those ‘universality’ entries require that the athletes competed in the most recent edition of FINA’s Long Course World Championships.
While the Olympic period runs up to the Olympics, the pair of Olympic hopeful might not be able to capitalize on more important overseas experience due to a lack of funding.
Since she is a ‘wild card entry’ for the Tokyo Olympics, Jamila will only compete in the 50m freestyle event in which her personal best time is 28:60.
“I should be able to shave some seconds off if I get to continue training to improve my arm speed. If I can get that going, I’m quite sure I’ll be a force to reckon with,” stated Jamila who attended the Business School.
Jamila said she is excited to be able to represent her country at the Olympic Games once again and is working hard to improve.
“I feel good. That’s because I’ve been training whenever pool time was available and putting in the land training when the gym was re-opened.
I will now have the opportunity to test myself against the very best in the world.
My first goal obviously would be to medal but if this is not possible then I would like to improve my time in the event I’m competing,” said the talented Swimmer, who first represented Guyana in the 2005 Goodwill Games among Caribbean Countries.
Last month, Jamila and Andrew Fowler joined 17-year old Leon Seaton, currently based in Florida on a FINA Scholarship and US based Guyanese Chase Thompson to participate the UAMA Olympic qualifiers in Clermont, Florida, USA.
“Not being able to gain access to the pool for about a year due to the lockdown has affected my training, but I am working hard to improve,” stated Jamila, who represented Guyana at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, as well as the 2019 World Swimming Championships.
“However, I was able to train at home intermittently but my biggest challenge was training by myself at home. Also, being away from my club and coach (The Astros) in Cali, Colombia, there, the training was more focused and intense. Also, club politics were reserved for back-room discussions and not in front of athletes. There, you had to perform to be chosen to represent your club at competitions,” explained Jamila.
“I think the standard of swimming in Guyana is not too high. We are not bringing home any medals or trophies, regionally or internationally. That speaks volumes about the standard of Coaching locally. No need to elaborate further,” Jamila pointed out.
Jamila feels that Sports scholarships are important for an athlete to become well developed.
“I am most thankful to Mr. Ivan Persaud, past president of GASA, for engaging the Colombian swimming fraternity in an exchange programme that allowed me to study and train in Cali, Colombia under the tutelage of Coach Fabio Toro de Obando. The approach to sports there is very organized and disciplined,” informed Jamila.
Jamila was born at Woodlands Hospital in Georgetown in 1997 to Ian and Debra Sanmoogan and has one brother, Keenan.
“Sports was not a big thing in school, but me and my brother were always chosen to represent our school in swimming. We started swimming at five years old under the tutelage of Coach Vibert Charles of Dolphin Speed Swim Club,” informed Jamila who attended the Business school.
“I enjoyed my time there immensely, especially competing against swimmers in other local clubs,” disclosed Amelia, who represented Astros in Colombia before returning to Guyana due to the pandemic.
“I did not do well at school academically. But my parents were insistent on me taking extra lessons to boost my academics. This continued until I left for Colombia on a sports scholarship made possible by the Guyana Amateur Swimming Association (GASA),” posited the lass who loved dancing as a child.
The young swimmer has attended several overseas Swim Meets, made possible by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) & GASA.
“They were all very nice. Accommodation and food were always well catered for. I would like to single out Doha, Qatar as my favorite.
My goal in life is to serve others. I have been continuing my studies in veterinary science online from Cali & hope that when I graduate, I will be able to contribute to the development of Guyana,” revealed Jamila.
She thanked her parents, Coaches (local & overseas), School Teachers, her extended family and friends, the management and staff of the GOA & GASA for the time and effort they expended during the development of her career.
“A special thanks to all the coaches throughout my career. And a special thanks to Mr. Charles Corbin for encouraging me to swim the Demerara River,” concluded Jamila.

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