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Ellina Mhlanga–Senior Sports Reporter
NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe director of coaches Lisimati Phakamile has conceded they need to channel more resources towards increasing the number of female athletes in track and field events.
Zimbabwe recently competed at the Confederation of African Athletics Senior Championships in Douala, Cameroon where they picked up two silver medals.
It was an improvement for Zimbabwe, who managed a bronze medal at the 2022 edition staged in Mauritius.
Zimbabwe had a 10-member team in Cameroon including two females — Ashley Kamangirira and sprinter Elizabeth Msipa, who competed in 400m hurdles and 100m respectively.
However, looking at the size of the team, it seems more needs to be done so that local female athletes also rise to the same level as their male counterparts, and compete at such a stage as the continental championships.
“That’s a big cause for concern specifically for me as the director of coaches and also the head coach for the country.
“We have always had a very low number of female athletes coming in specifically in the track. The quality of performances of our girls hasn’t been to the standards that we want.
“This one I always push it to my colleagues, the coaches. We need to pull ourselves, put our house in order, pick up the girls, give them the same amount of effort that we are giving to the boys, and also hope that the same athletes, the girls, will also give the same dedication.
“We only have a few athletes that we can pick up for major championships on the girls’ side, on the track and on the field.
“We hope that our girls can replicate the amount of effort and dedication that we see on the road runners’ female department.
“We have a lot of female road runners. They are very dedicated and they push their event as far as they want to. But on the track it’s a different note,” Phakamile said.
While the numbers have been encouraging at the junior level, it’s a different case at the senior level where numbers are dropping.
Last year NAAZ had several female athletes at the Under-20 (junior) and Under-18 (youth) Africa Championships held in Ndola, Zambia.
The likes of upcoming athlete Kimberly Kachambwa picked a silver medal in discus, in the Under-18.
“Most of our athletes perform exceptionally well at a junior level. We have quite a lot of talent at junior levels.
“But the moment we cross the bridge to the senior levels for women, we tend to lose our girls to different scenarios, different aspects of life.
“Our economic situation is not the best at the moment and trying to balance between track and the economic situation becomes difficult. Our track is not paying much and it only takes a dedicated athlete to ignore the economic situation and focus on the track. But it’s very difficult.
“We are going to deliberately focus on the girls, with all our efforts, resources and try to bring in as much as possible the efforts of the coaches, be it male, be it female into the house, and try to assist the female athlete perform.
“We want to have a deliberate target on girls relays, 4x100m. We believe they have got a very strong team of girls that can make up a team that can challenge in Africa.
“We also have one or two very strong girls that can also stand and compete against our fellow locals in the Region. That is South Africa, Botswana and by so doing we can groom national champions in the ladies’ department.
“I want to accept that during my tenure I haven’t produced as many talented girls on the track and also on the field to compete at these stages. We have always carried one or two. In the previous edition, we had Ashley Kamangirira and in this edition, we have Ashley and Elizabeth,” said Phakamile.
Some of the athletes the national association can look at include United States-based Vimbayi Maisvorewa and Samukeliso Ndebele, who has previously represented the country at the World Junior Championships.
Online Reporter