With the 19th FINA World Championships nearly here, its time to check in with some of the scholarship awardees to see how the combination of hard work, talent and determination – paired with some technical and financial backing – is helping them progress their sporting careers.

First up, we check in with Belly-Cresus Ganira of Burundi and Julimar Avila Mancia of Honduras.

Belly-Cresus Ganira - Burundi

Belly, how did you get your start in swimming in Burundi?

It was at the age of 4 that I began to familiarize myself with swimming pools in Burundi. Little by little I took a liking to it, and I ended up falling in love with this sport, and from the age of 10 I joined clubs to compete.

You were nominated as your nation’s flagbearer with Ornella Havyarimana at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? What emotions were running through you waving the Burundi flag in this arena?

Frankly, it surprised me so much to see that I was elected to wear the flag at the Tokyo Olympics. Indeed, it was the first Olympic Games, there were, in the delegation, old and regulars but despite that, it fell on me, a dream which s accomplished, it is an immense grace which been made. 

You swam at the 17th FINA World Championships in Budapest. What are you most looking forward to now getting to compete again at this event in the Hungarian capital city?

Going back there makes me very confident. During the 17th edition in 2017, I was a little young, I was 17 years old, and I came home with a good performance. Now that I am going back, I expect huge surprises and I am very confident of my performance that I will accomplish because the climate, the atmosphere, the swimming pool, the welcome, the professionalism, everything in Budapest is good and favours the athlete.

Julimar Avila Mancia - Honduras

Julimar, how did you get your start in swimming in Honduras? What’s the swimming scene like there? 

I started swimming because my mom wanted to learn how to swim, so she'd take me with her to her swimming lessons and from there she could tell that I loved being in the water. I started competing for a club team in Honduras at the age of 8 and was selected for the national team for my first international meet, CAMEX, in 2010.

The swimming scene in Honduras is definitely growing, it's gaining more popularity which is a fantastic thing. I would like to help swimming become more available to those who want to learn, as it's a great skill level to learn and especially to more children from all economic levels.


You made some history at the 2020 Olympic Games, becoming the first Universality athlete (and first Honduras swimmer) to advance out of the preliminary rounds of the Olympic Games. What was it like competing in Tokyo?

Tokyo was definitely a whirlwind of emotions. Faced with some obstacles at the beginning (being quarantined after being deemed a close contact with someone on my flight, being in isolation/different pool time, and the 14 days being over on the day I raced), I referred back to the mental training I'd done with my team before travelling and stayed in the moment and present as best I could. I wanted to enjoy every second of being in Japan for my first Olympics. It had been a dream of mine since the first time standing on a podium as a representative of the Honduran national team in 2010.

When the day of my race came I was in a state of calm I'd never experienced before :) At grand stages, I can get worked up and very nervous about my races way ahead of the day I compete, and yet I went in that Thursday knowing that I wanted to do and be my best, represent Honduras the best way I could and that would be by giving it my all. Our coach told us we were there to compete, and I wanted to show that I could compete on the big stage.

I'm really proud of my swim and making it back to the semi-finals was a dream come true, one that I honestly hadn't expected. All the work that I'd done from learning to swim and compete at the age of 5 to moving away from home and taking the opportunity of the FINA scholarship felt accumulated in the walk up to the block for my prelim and semi-final swim.

I knew that my support system was proud of me and I wanted to make them and especially Honduras even more proud of the way that I raced and finished. The amount of support from the Hondurans that I felt when I qualified for the semi-finals was overwhelming and helped me stay in the moment and present for the semi-final race because again it was another chance to represent my country.

Overall, the beginning was an experience unexpected I believe everything happens for a reason and I had quite an experience overall in Tokyo that will forever be a core memory.

 
With the 19th FINA World Championships nearly here, what are your goals for in Budapest?

I always want to represent my country – as well as my support system of coaches, parents, and myself – to the best of my abilities. I've been training hard both in and out of the water working towards some goals times that I would like to achieve. Overall, my goals are to do the best I can and represent Honduras to the highest level!