David Dunford

David Harvey Dunford (born 29 September 1988) is a swimmer from Kenya who specializes in sprint freestyle. He is an African champion, Commonwealth Games finalist and the second Kenyan swimmer in history to qualify for the Olympic Games (the first was his older brother Jason Dunford).[1]

David Dunford
Personal information
Full nameDavid Harvey Dunford
Nationality Kenya
Born (1988-09-29) 29 September 1988
Nairobi, Kenya
Height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle, Backstroke
College teamStanford University
Medal record
Men’s swimming
Representing  Kenya
All-Africa Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Maputo 100 m freestyle
Silver medal – second place 2011 Maputo 50 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Maputo 4×100 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Maputo 4×200 m freestyle
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Maputo 4×100 m medley

Career

His first major senior competition was the 2005 World Championships in Montreal, but the young swimmer failed to advance heats.[2]

At the 2006 Short Course World Championships in Shanghai he reached the 200 metres backstroke final, finishing 8th.[3] At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he participated in several races, his best result being reaching a final and finishing 7th at 50 metre freestyle. Later that year, at the 2006 African Swimming Championships he won the 100 metres and 200 metres backstroke, becoming the first Kenyan African Champion alongside his brother Jason. David Dunford was selected as the Most Promising Sportsman in Kenya in 2006.[4]

In 2007, he participated in the World Championships and All-Africa Games.

He competed in the 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships in Manchester in April 2008 and reached the 50m and 100m freestyle semifinals, finishing 12th in both races.[5][6]

David Dunford competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In the 50 metres freestyle race, he finished 20th overall in heats and missed the semifinals by only 0.12 seconds.[7] He did not compete in the 2008 African Swimming Championships[8] due to his studies.

At the 2009 Summer Universiade he reached the 50 metres freestyle final, finishing sixth.[9] At the 2009 World Championships he reached the semifinals in the 50m freestyle.[10]

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the 50 and 100 metre freestyle.[11]

Family life

Dunford is the son of Martin and Geraldine Dunford. Martin Dunford is the Chairman of the Tamarind Group, which owns the Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi;[12] Geraldine, granddaughter of Abraham Block, founder of Block Hotels, is the marketing executive. Martin is also the vice chairman of the Kenya Swimming Federation and the patron of the Nairobi Amateur Swimming Association (NASA).[13] He has two brothers, Robert and Jason. Jason is also a swimmer and represents Kenya.

After early childhood in Kenya, David Dunford went to Marlborough College, a secondary school in the United Kingdom, after which he attended Stanford University in California, where he studied Management Science and Engineering.[14]

References
  1. Lord, Craig (5 February 2014). "FINIS helps Kenyan Jason Dunford fly down to Rio by 2016". SwimVortex.com. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  2. "DUNFORD, David". Swimrankings.net. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  3. Swimrannkings.net FINA: 8th World Short Course Championships
  4. The Standard 23 February 2007 Kipchirchir, Jepkosgei named Soya winners Archived 2009-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
  5. 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships – Men's 50m freestyle (subscription required)
  6. 2008 FINA Short Course World Championships – Men's 100m freestyle (subscription required)
  7. "Jason shatters Olympic record". The Standard. 15 August 2008.
  8. "Brunlehner claims new record". Daily Nation. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  9. 2009 Summer Universiade results service: Men's 50m Freestyle Finals Final A Archived 2009-07-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Omega Timing: Swimming at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships – Men's 50m freestyle semifinals race
  11. "David Dunford Bio, Stats, and Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  12. World Investment News, 18 June 1999: Interview with Mr. Martin Dunford
  13. "ALL AFRICA GAMES: Dunford proves his mettle". Daily Nation. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  14. "Player Bio: David Dunford". Stanford University. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
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