|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Tony Batis |
| Coach from which country? | United States |
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Stanford, CA, USA |
| Higher education | Earth Sciences, Human Physiology - Stanford University: United States |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Surfing, fishing, reading, ecology. (swimnews.swimfacts.com, 14 Oct 2010) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | "Rituals are no longer really part of my world because I've realised that superstition counts for nothing other to distract me from the task at hand. I do breathing exercises to help me focus and reach a state of flow before my races. Also, on occasion staring at a singular point for a period of time can help me focus and better ‘get in the zone'." (swimnews.swimfacts.com, 14 Oct 2010) |
| Famous relatives | His younger brother David is also a Kenyan international swimmer. (alumni.stanford.edu, 03 Jul 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | His father introduced him and his brothers to water sports off the coast of Mombasa. |
General Interest | |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (sportskenya.blogspot.com, 12 Mar 2013; swimmingworldmagazine.com, 05 Feb 2014) |
| Awards and honours | He was chosen to be Kenya's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (swimmingworldmagazine.com, 05 Feb 2014) He was named Overall Mens Swimmer of the Year at the 2011 All-Africa Games. (standardmedia.co.ke, 09 Nov 2011) He was voted Kenya's Sportsman of the Year in 2007. (nation.co.ke, 04 Aug 2008) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began swimming competitively at age five at Kenton College primary school in Nairobi, Kenya. |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English, Swahili |
General Interest | |
| Other information | TAKING A BREAK He decided to forego international competition in 2013 to work for an electronics company in California, United States, called GreenCitizen. He wanted to refresh his mind and get some work experience he can use for his career after swimming. (sportskenya.blogspot.com, 12 Mar 2013) HEAVY BURDEN He was thrilled to be selected as Kenya's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. However, he said it exhausted his legs and possibly contributed to his disappointing performance in the pool. (sportskenya.blogspot.com, 12 Mar 2013) WELL TRAVELLED He was born in Kenya and first represented the country at age eight. He then moved to the United Kingdom to attend the Marlborough College in Wiltshire and captained the south west of England schools team in 2004. He moved to the United States to swim for Stanford University in the 2005/06 season. (gostanford.cstv.com, 10 Dec 2007; Swim News, 26 Mar 2007) FAMILY His father Martin Dunford is the chairman of the Tamarind Group which owns the Carnivore restaurant chain in Kenya. He is also the vice-chairman of the Kenya Swimming Federation and is a patron of the Nairobi Amateur Swimming Association [NASA]. His mother Geraldine Dunford is the granddaughter of Abraham Block, who founded Block Hotels. She is the company's marketing executive. Jason has an older brother who graduated from the London School of Economics and was captain of the rugby team. His younger brother David is a swimmer and represents Kenya. (china.org.cn, 21 Jan 2012; sportykenya.com, 08 Nov 2010) NATIONAL FIRSTS He made history in the 100m butterfly at the 2006 African Championships in Senegal by winning Kenya's first major international swimming gold medal. He was also the first Kenyan to swim in an Olympic final, finishing fifth in the 100m butterfly in Beijing in 2008. (nation.co.ke, 04 Aug 2008; swimnews.swimfacts.com, 14 Oct 2010) |