I’ll rebuild my swim empire stroke by stroke

James Muiruri is to the swimming profession what Kipchoge Keino is to athletics in Kenya. The founder of Swim Africa has dedicated his life to the development of the sport locally, witnessing its growth through the decades.

When I walk into his office at Montessori Learning Centre in Nairobi, he is almost static behind his desk, his eyes fastened on his laptop. At first, it is hard to place his precise persona, whether genial or steely and practical, a visage he assumes almost too deliberately, only given away by his sporadic easy laugh.