Muteti to fly Kenya’s flag honorably, says her coach. – KBC

The coach of US based Kenyan swimmer Emily Muteti, Mr.Steve Schaffer has lauded the selection of 21-year-old Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Agent trainee, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics where she will be one of Kenya’s two representatives.

Schaffer, Muteti’s coach at Grand Canyon University, said that they are proud of her achievement adding that getting to represent Kenya at the Olympics is a goal that she had tirelessly worked hard to achieve.

“We are very proud of Emily. Representing Kenya at the Olympics is a goal that Emily has worked very hard to make a reality for these past 4 years at GCU Student Athlete Development and it has been a pleasure to work with her and help her along this path, she is an exemplary student and athlete and will represent Kenya honorably.” he said.

She missed out on being named part of the Kenyan team for the 2016 Rio Olympics competition after getting dropped at the hour of need with her place being taken by Talisa Lanoe.

Arguably one of Kenya’s best swimmers, she has been commanding the pool in national, continental and world galas and says she will continue to remain hungry and work harder than usual.

“Competing at the Olympics has been my dream since I was a child. It’s the world’s biggest stage ever for swimmers and to share the podium with others across the globe will be my biggest achievement,” she said.

In the past decade, she has represented Kenya in multiple competitions, including the Commonwealth Games, African Championships, World Championships, All Africa Games, and Short Course World Championships.

In 2013, Muteti was part of the Kenya national team that reaped 26 gold, 26 silver and 28 bronze medals during African Championships Zone Three and Four in Zambia, with Muteti bagging seven gold and three bronze medals.

She then represented Kenya at the World Championships in Spain and capped the year with another personal accolade; Most Promising Sports Personality at the 2013 Sports Personality of the Year (SOYA) Awards.

Kenya has been granted two slots and are expected to send a female and a male athlete to the Tokyo Games with Muteti keen on making her dream come true.

Kenya Swimming Federation confirmed that 19-year-old Danilo Rosafio and Muteti, were selected based on new qualification guidelines provided by the international swimming governing body, Fina.

“It was based on the published criteria dated January 27, 2021 and further country specific guidelines issued by Fina on April 14, 2021,” stated the statement.

The selection was based on the top-ranking points from Fina qualifying events and the participation in the 2019 Fina World Championships in Gwanju, Korea.

Rosafio achieved the top 730 Fina points in 100m freestyle at the Fina World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary. while Muteti attained the top 698 Fina points in 50m freestyle at the 12th African Games in Casablanca, Morocco.

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