Grange School and St Saviour’s School underlined their dominance at the Season 7 Dolphin Swimming League Awards in Lagos, as three swimmers were handed Most Valuable Player honours and the top school titles were retained in the country’s leading schools meet.
Key takeaways
- Three swimmers received MVP recognition at the Season 7 awards in Lagos.
- Grange School and St Saviour’s School kept their status as Nigeria’s leading-ranked schools in the premier schools swimming competition.
- Naetochukwu Oguegbu won Best Male Swimmer after collecting 15 gold medals.
- Oluwatofunmi Ibidapo retained Best Female Swimmer for a second straight year, with 14 gold medals and one silver.
- St Saviour’s finished first in the primary school team standings with 954.5 points, while Grange led the secondary division on 1,074 points.
MVP honours and individual swimming awards
Naetochukwu Oguegbu of Meadow Hall School claimed the Best Male Swimmer award following a haul of 15 gold medals, and he also shared the MVP spotlight with Grange School’s Aidan Dumuje-Abili, a repeat MVP recipient.
In the women’s category, Oluwatofunmi Ibidapo of Grange School secured the Best Female Swimmer prize for the second consecutive season. She delivered a standout medal run of 14 golds and one silver.
Speaking after the ceremony, Ibidapo said: “After winning last year, I knew I had to redouble my efforts to retain the title. Next season, I hope to make it three in a row through even greater dedication and hard work.”
Team results, club honours and league backing
St Saviour’s School in Ikoyi topped the primary school team standings, finishing with 954.5 points to take the Best Primary School title. Grange School then led the secondary school rankings, posting 1,074 points to claim the top spot in that category.
Boken Club was recognised as Best Club at both primary and secondary levels.
At the well-attended event, former Nigeria Aquatics Federation President Babatunde Fatayi-Williams said the Dolphin Swimming League is the standout competition to come out of Nigeria and pointed to the progress of its graduates, noting that former participants are now competing for the country at national, continental and international levels. He urged the federation to work with the league to bring a similar structure to other parts of the country.
League Technical Director Samuel Jesimiel added that the competition is already producing swimmers who can represent Nigeria, and he praised parents for their continued support in helping improve performance standards year after year.
The Dolphin Swimming League is held each year by Dynaspro Sports Promotion in partnership with Advanta Interactive Limited. Technical input is provided by the Lagos State Aquatic Association, while the event receives sanction from the Nigeria Aquatics Federation, the Nigeria Olympic Committee and the Nigeria School Sport Federation.
