By Chancy Namadzunda, AfricaNews reporter in Lilongwe Malawi

Two marathon swimmers’ Kaitlin Harthoorn and Milko van Gool attempt to swim across Lake Malawi at its narrowest point from Cape Ngombo to Senga Bay, a distance of approximately 24 kilometers was successful.

With the success, Kaitlin, 17 is the youngest person ever to cross Lake Malawi, and indeed any of the Great Lakes in Africa.

The attempt which was done on February 9, was started at dawn on the beach of Hotel Livingstonia in Senga Bay in the early afternoon.

Each swimmer was escorted by a support boat and crew.

Milko van Gool was the first to complete the distance with 8 hrs 46 minjutes while her friend Kaitlin Harthoorn arrived at 9hrs 17 minutes.

In an interview Sharon Harthoorn said the swim was successful without any problems.

“Their attempt was preceded by three earlier successful crossings, by Lewis Pugh and Otto Thaning in January 1992, and by Abigail Brown, the first female to swim the Lake, in May 2010.

“While their main objective is to simply achieve the crossing safe and sound, both swimmers will try to beat Abigail Brown’s record time of 9 hours, 45 minutes and 35 seconds,” she said.

Kaitlin Harthoorn is an American national and a pupil of the African Bible College Christian Academy in Lilongwe.

She is a competitive swimmer for ABC’s school team and the Malawi national team.

With her swim she intended to raise funds for the Adziwa Orphan Care project in Kauma Village, outside Lilongwe.

Milko van Gool, 46 is a Dutch national and a European Union diplomat currently posted in Malawi. A competitive swimmer in his early youth, he started participating in marathon swims at the age of 43. He swam the English Channel in July 2011.

Both swimmers are grateful to the African Bible College in Lilongwe for generously making available its pool for their countless training hours.

In 2007, a partnership of churches built 23 homes and a Christian Primary School with 500 students in Kauma village.

The Adziwa Initiative also sponsors families to take care of orphans. All sponsorship money raised by Kaitlin will go towards providing much needed resources for the children and families under the care of the Adziwa Initiative.

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