Sharks Squad has won the second edition of Ibadan age grade swimming championship, which was held on Saturday at the University of Ibadan. Sharks Squad claimed the championship with 24 gold, 9 silver and 9 bronze medals ahead of Harmony Aquatic Club which got 11 gold 20 silver and 12 bronze. Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) swimming team claimed the third position with 9 gold, 8 silver and 6 bronze, while Jossy swimmers got 9 gold 17 silver and 27 bronze to claim the fourth position. While speaking, the convener of the championship, 15-year-old Oluwatimilehin Olaiya, expressed satisfaction with the turn out, just as he lauded the participants for their love for swimming. Olaiya appealed to government at all levels to invest in training facilities, coaching, and youth programme to enhance performance in swimming. He said the aim of the championship is to encourage more young people to embrace swimming, especially in Oyo State. “I represent Oyo State at the last Youth Games in Asaba but I was not happy about our participation because we ddin’t have enough swimmers to represent the state and that motivated me to do something about this with the championship. “What we saw today, I believe Oyo State will do better at the next National Youth Games because I could see a lot of new stars. “I just want to urge the state government to do the needful to our swimming pool at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan so as to encourage the young ones to exercise and keep fit. “Investing in swimming not only fosters talent development but also promotes physical fitness and health among the youth and our is target is to nurture the next generation of champions,” said Oluwatimilehin, who won two silver and one bronze at the last National Youth Games for Oyo State. Also, the cordinator of the programme, Folusho Ayo Olaiya, said she was impressed with the outcome of the championship saying over 100 swimmers participated in the two days event. She said there were a lots of improvement compared to last year’s edition adding that the joy the swimmers showed for this year is far better than we they experienced last year. The coordinator disclosed that last year, many swimmers dropped off during the event but this year a lot of them concluded and finish and also did multiple events. She thanked the sponsors like MTN, Rite foods, GB Agboola, among others. Also, a parent of a contestant, who brought her ward from Ilorin, Mrs Tokunbo Obajolowo, lauded the organiser of the championship, saying it’s an amazing opportunity for the younger ones go embrace swimming as a sport. “I will just charge both state and federal governments to recognise the value of swimming as a medal-winning sport and to allocate resources accordingly. In their seperate remarks, Tofunmi Ibidapo and Pelumi Adeosun said they had no regrets in choosing swimming as they target to representing Nigeria at the Olympics level.