Cold. Nervous. Excited. We were all huddled in a small room; waiting eagerly for the races to start. Kids between the ages twelve and sixteen sat on the few benches in the room, staring into space with pale faces. Seeing them nervous only made it worse for me. My stomach felt like it had a million butterflies fluttering inside it. Goosebumps were crawling over every inch of my body, leaving me shaking uncontrollably. This was C.A.N.A. and there were sixteen African countries participating. I was representing Uganda
The events were approaching and mine was one of the first: girls 12+U 50m breaststroke. I was in the third heat. The fastest heat. I had compared my entry time to those of the girls I was swimming against. One girl had 37.25 seconds, another had 38.58, and someone had 40.43. Then came my time: 40.81. So far I had the fourth fastest time but I knew I had a chance. I knew I could get that bronze medal.
Suddenly, a woman in a white tracksuit with a whistle around her neck came into the room. She was holding a clipboard. She blew softly on her whistle to catch our attention then called the 12+U boys and girls to come with her. We got up and followed her out the door.
She led us into another room next to the one we were in. The walls were made of glass so I could see everything that was going on outside. I could feel the tension in the room as I walked in and I knew it was getting even more serious now. My eyes searched the room for a place to sit. I found an empty chair next to a girl in a blue tracksuit. I walked over and sat down next to her. She looked at me and asked, “Do you speak English.” I was too nervous to give much of a response so I just nodded my head. “Good,” she said. I forced a smile and turned my head to face the pool.
I was watching the swimming races when I noticed that the open age boys were swimming. I started to panic. My event was next. My heart was pounding wildly in my chest, my palms were sweaty and teeth were chattering so much I couldn’t stop them. Discouraging questions kept popping in my head like: “what if I get disqualified”, “what if my goggles fall down?”, “what if I mess up?”. I forced them out and tried focusing on something else but it was useless.
All of a sudden, a woman called all the 12+U girls. It was time. I walked up to the door and lined up with the other girls. I waited there until the first two heats were over then it was our turn. We walked to the starting blocks of the 50m pool. The surface was reflecting the grey cloudy sky like a giant mirror. I could hear music playing from the huge speakers and the excited chattering of the crowd as we made our way to the other side of the pool.
When we got there we were all given a lane. I was lane 3. I took of my flip-flops and tracksuit and placed them in the box next to my lane. Immediately the sharp air pierced my skin. It was even colder now. I went to adjust my starting block then waited patiently for everyone else to get ready.
The long whistle went and the crowd went silent. I took a deep breath before getting on the blocks. “On your marks.” I bent down. “Get set.” My body tensed. “Go!” I leaped off the block and hit the surface. The water raced past me as I streamlined underwater. Then I broke the surface, gasping for air. The crowd erupted into excited shouting. I looked ahead. My start had been terrible. Almost everyone was in front of me but I wasn’t going to give up now. I started speeding and catching up with people; overtaking them. Now there were only three in front of me. Pull harder! Kick harder! Only 20m left. I couldn’t feel my legs anymore, they had gone numb but I wasn’t stopping. I had caught up with the third girl so it was a race for third place. The thought of the bronze medal was motivating me.
Finally I got to the wall. I reached out as fast as possible and slammed both hands against it. I was panting heavily and my head was pounding. I turned my head up to the display board. A big grin spread across my face. I had come third by 30 microseconds and broken my personal best time!
Another whistle went and we got out of the pool. My body was so exhausted I had to lean against the wall for support. I sank to the floor and lay there for a few minutes, regaining my strength and enjoying this glorious moment. It was the greatest achievement of my life. I had never been this happy!