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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe director of coaching, talent identification and development Lisimati Phakamile says next month’s national competition will be key in the finalisation of their team for the Africa Senior Championships.
The national championships are due to take place on June 8 at White City Stadium, in Bulawayo.
The meet will also serve as a selection event for other upcoming competitions, including the Junior African Championships.
Zimbabwe’s athletes will use the African Senior Championships, scheduled for June 21-26 in Douala, Cameroon, as the last qualifying event for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
“My coaching department is looking forward to this event as it is one of the main selection platforms for athletes that we want to use or to represent Zimbabwe for us, be it at the Junior Championships, Africa Senior Championships, or any other upcoming event.
“We use this platform, which is recognised by World Athletics to select and identify our top athletes in the country.
“We are quite excited because this is the main selection platform among other international events and international competitions that our athletes have been going to.
“We have had athletes running in South Africa, Zambia, some have been to Botswana but we are saying our national championships is a very important day in our calendar.
“Our final selection will be on that day and, probably, we expect to announce our teams immediately thereafter,” said Phakamile.
NAAZ have indicated that it being an Olympic year, they would want to field their top athletes at the upcoming African Championships with the hope that a few more will make the cut for the Games.
They are also going for the relay events, fielding a 4x100m relay team to challenge for a slot at the Olympic Games.
Two marathon runners, Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora, sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwa Makarawu have already earned their tickets to Paris.
So far, athletics has the highest number of athletes for Team Zimbabwe.
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