Luanda - Angola will have a referee, for the first time, after 44 years, in the swimming tournament of the Olympic Games, to be held from July 26 to August 11, in Paris (France).
He is the international judge Kimbo Kiambata, a member of the Angolan Swimming Federation (FAN), founded in 1979.
The information was made official Monday to ANGOP, in Luanda, by the federation president, Joaquim Santos, in an interview to be published soon in full, where he addressed the state of the sport and the holding of the African Championship in the country in April/May.
In his professional curriculum, Kimbo Kiambata has already judged at the World Championships, held from July 23 to 30, 2023, in Japan, in the open water specialty.
According to the FAN's head, the presence of the Angolan judge in the world's largest multidisciplinary sporting event represents a historic turning point in Angolan swimming.
From 2020 to 2024 is Angola's third appearance in world events, a mark that had previously been registered in 24 years (from 1996 to 2020).
In 2022, at the Junior World Championships in Lima (Peru), Angola was present with judge Maria José Aparício, in 2023 at the World Championships in Fukuoka (Japan) with the same Kimbo Kiambata, who is on the way to the Olympic Games in July.
From 1996 to 2020, national swimming was also represented at the World Championships, with the late judge Carlos Lino, namely Rome'1996 and Barcelona'2003.
Then, in 2017, with Osvaldo Morais, at the World Cup held in Budapest (Hungary). JAD/MC/CF/DOJ
