Photo: Tendo Mukalazi in action, photo courtesy Hungarian Swimming Federation
By Torin Koos
Proving that it’s possible to pursue your academic goals while chasing your sports goals, Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder Tendo Mukalazi of Uganda has eclipsed his own national record in the 100m freestyle.
Mukalazi swam 52.62 at the Hungarian Championships in Kaposvar to beat his old record by .29 of a second.
The 20-year-old set the previous national best of 52.91 at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Mukalazi has five Ugandan national records to his name: the 50m and 100m freestyle, 50m backstroke, mixed 50m freestyle relay and the mixed 4x50m medley relay.
The Stipendium Hungaricum Scholarship Programme debuted last year with Ali Jafari of Iran joining Mukalazi in the inaugural class.
Mukalazi is currently studying Communication and Media Studies at Corvinus University with Jafari working towards a Nursing and Patient Care degree at Semmelweis University.
The scholarship programme was created to provide priority support for the studies of international students with internationally recognised sporting achievements in Hungarian higher education institutions and their participation in competitive university sports and non-university competitive sports, as well as to assist the development of sports life in Hungarian universities.
Story: Courtesy World Aquatics
