This summer, Zach Moyo will represent Zambia at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow from 23rd July to 2nd August, a major milestone both for Zach personally and for everyone connected with NOVA Centurion.
His selection reflects not only his own dedication and progression, but also the growing strength and ambition of the newly established Sprint Programme within the Swim England Performance Centre.
Even more significantly, Zach becomes the 150th international athlete produced by NOVA Centurion, a landmark achievement that highlights decades of athlete development and reinforces NOVA’s reputation for consistently producing swimmers capable of performing on the international stage.
And perhaps most exciting of all, he is far from the only athlete pushing the programme forward.
Across the performance squads, a new generation of talented swimmers continues to raise standards season after season, helping to create an environment where international success is increasingly becoming an expectation rather than an exception. Zach’s selection is another strong sign that the pathway being built at NOVA is working.
Zach has earned his place within a remarkably small but highly competitive Zambian swimming team consisting of just four athletes, two men and two women. To be selected within such a limited squad underlines the level he has reached and the confidence Zambia has in his ability to perform on the international stage.
He has qualified for both the 50m and 100m Breaststroke events and may also feature in the 4x100m Mixed Medley Relay. His Commonwealth Games campaign begins with the 100m Breaststroke on Friday 24th July before he returns for the 50m Breaststroke on Sunday 26th July, with heats, semi-finals, and finals scheduled across both events.
For those who know Zach, this success has been years in the making.
Since arriving at NOVA as a scholarship athlete at the University of Nottingham, where he studies Engineering with Physical Sciences, he has consistently demonstrated the professionalism, resilience, and mindset required to compete at elite level.
Balancing the demands of a highly challenging degree alongside international-level swimming is never easy, yet Zach has embraced both with maturity and discipline well beyond his years, and the results continue to show.
During his time at NOVA, he has already broken Zambian national records in both the 50m and 100m Breaststroke and has also been nominated for Zambia Sportsman of the Year, recognition of the rapid progress he continues to make within the sport.
Building a Sprint Programme for Modern Elite Swimming
Zach’s progression also highlights the exciting development of NOVA’s specialist Sprint Programme.
Sprint swimming has evolved dramatically over the last decade. The 50m and 100m events are now more competitive, technical, and specialised than ever before. Success at elite level is no longer built on hard work alone, it requires precision, power, technical mastery, and highly targeted performance training.
Recognising that shift, NOVA recently launched a dedicated Sprint Group within the Performance Centre, specifically designed for swimmers specialising in explosive speed, starts, turns, underwater work, technical efficiency, and elite sprint conditioning.
Zach has emerged as one of the leading athletes within that environment.
At sprint level, the margins are incredibly small. Hundredths of a second can separate finalists from semi-finalists, meaning every detail matters. Training must therefore reflect the specific demands of modern sprint racing, from explosive power and speed endurance to race execution, recovery, and underwater efficiency.
Zach’s progression over the last few seasons is a clear reflection of how effective that environment can be.
His improvements have not simply come from swimming more metres, but from smarter, more specialised training designed around the realities of elite sprint performance.
Watching him develop from a talented swimmer into an international athlete has been hugely rewarding for everyone involved in the programme and incredibly motivating for the younger swimmers progressing through the NOVA pathway.
Creating an Environment Where Athletes Can Dream Bigger
One of the most powerful aspects of Zach’s selection is the message it sends throughout the club.
International swimming is not something that only happens elsewhere. With the right coaching, support, structure, and athlete commitment, swimmers at NOVA can compete on the world stage.
That belief matters.
Young athletes need visible examples of what is possible. They need to see swimmers progressing to major championships and proving that consistency, discipline, and trust in the process can lead to opportunities at the highest level of the sport.
Zach is now one of those role models.
His journey reinforces the pathway NOVA continues to build through strong technical foundations, clear progression into performance squads, specialist training environments, academic and athletic balance, and a long-term approach to athlete development.
This is not simply about producing fast swimmers today, it is about developing athletes capable of sustained success for years to come.
A Proud Moment for NOVA
Although swimming is often viewed as an individual sport, achievements like this are never accomplished alone.
Behind every international athlete is a network of coaches, teammates, support staff, training partners, friends, and family contributing to the journey every single day.
Zach’s success reflects the culture being built throughout NOVA, one centred on ambition, accountability, professionalism, and high performance.
His Commonwealth Games selection is a proud moment for the entire programme.
For younger swimmers, it provides a blueprint for what is possible.
For parents, it demonstrates the strength of a pathway committed to long-term athlete development.
And for the club itself, it represents another major step forward in establishing NOVA as one of the country’s leading performance swimming environments.
This summer, everyone connected with NOVA will be watching proudly as Zach steps onto the blocks to represent Zambia on one of the biggest stages in world sport.
