World Aquatics Championships: Cameroon off to challenging start in Singapore.

The heat of the poor start increased after short distance swimmer, Claudio Yelegou was knocked out in round one of the 100m freestyle swimming series yesterday. 

The elimination of the 30-year-old had come after that of ace swimmer, Charly Ndjoume who was knocked out in the first round of the men’s 50m butterfly swimming category last Saturday. 

Ndjoume registered the result after doing the race in 30.95 seconds. The performance placed the 35-year-old 97th out of the slightly over 100 swimmers who were on the starting block in the first phase eyeing one of the 16 semifinal qualification tickets that were on the table.

Tough race for Yelegou

Yelegou battled 112 other swimmers for 16 semifinal qualification spots during his race in the first round of the men’s 100m freestyle swimming challenge.

He completed the race, ranking 102nd on the final standing, far below the standard that was required to make it through to the semis. 

The former African swimming championships star got the disappointing ranking after doing the race in 1.02. 86 seconds in heat two of the 12-heats opening round. 

The timing of over one minute and two seconds placed the Cameroonian nineth out of the 10 swimmers who featured in the heat two. 

Ecuador’s William Birkette Feraud won the heat in 51.02 ahead of Rohan Shearer of Cabo Verde and Erik Blandon of Nicaragua who completed the challenge in 52.45 and 53.01 seconds respectively.

Neither of William Birkette Feraud, Rohan Shearer and Erik Blandon were able to qualify for the semifinals after the trio also failed to register a time that was fast enough to place them among the top 16 on the general classification table.

Romania’s David Popovici led the contingent that qualified. The European timed 47.41 seconds, just above the likes of Australia’s Kyle Chalmers, Egor Kovev of Russia and Australia’s Flynn Southam who respectively did the series in 47.48, 47.51 and 47.73 seconds. 

Yelegou is making his first appearance in the World Aquatics Championships and his overall second participation in a global water sports competition.

He starred in the men’s 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle event of the 2024 World Aquatics Swimming Championships in Hungary last year.

Cameroon still strongly in the race

Despite the poor start, Cameroon still has several medal-winning chances on its table. All the four swimmers that Cameroon entered for the competition are still fully in the race, including Yelegou and Ndjoume who both have an event each to compete in.

Yelogou will get back to action on Saturday August 2 to star in the men’s 50m backstroke swimming category.

He will be challenging 56 other swimmers in the opening round with sights on securing one of the 16 semifinal qualification tickets that will be up for grabs. 

Team Cameroon’s youngest representative in the championships, Ceylia Djeutcha will flag off her journey in series this Thursday when she stars in the women’s 100m freestyle. The 15-year-old will set off the journey in the heats stage.

She will later compete in the competition again on Saturday August 2 with an appearance in round one of the women’s 50m breaststroke series.

Young Olympian, Grace Manuela Nguelo’o will also be in action on Saturday 1 in the women’s 50m butterfly category. The 19-year-old will kick-start the race in the heats phase.

The young swimmer will return on Saturday August 2 to star in the women’s 50m freestyle series.

Charly Ndjoume who has featured in multiple global competitions for Cameroon over the years, will star in the men’s 50m freestyle category on Saturday. 

He will begin the race at the level of the heats stage with eyes doing better than the opening round elimination that he suffered in the men’s 50m butterfly event.

The 2025 World Aquatics Championships began in Singapore on July 26 bringing together some two thousand athletes from across the globe. The competition will conclude on August 22.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3520 of Thursday July 31, 2025