Body Works Gym sprinters ready for Track and Field Championships

Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THREE Body Works sprinters are geared up for today’s Track and Field Championships to be staged at White City Stadium today.

Nigel Tom, Faith Dube and Fortunate Chichichi have been working hard ahead of today’s races with the trio confident of posting good times. Tom is competing in the 400m, Dube in the 100m and 200m while Chichichi is taking part in the 400m as well as 400m hurdles.

For Tom, he is eyeing lowering his time as he seeks to represent the country at the Senior African Championships to be held in Nigeria in August.

“This is my fourth race for the year, I am still trying to post the qualifying time of 46,5 seconds for Nigeria. We have the national championships coming up in May. On Sunday, I am pushing for a 46 high or 47 low preparing for the nationals at White City 12 and 13 May,’’ Tom said.

Dube is also bidding to be part of the Zimbabwean team for the trip to Nigeria. The 26-year-old is juggling athletics with studying for a National Diploma in Electrical Power Engineering at the Bulawayo Polytechnic.

“I am only running 100m and 200m because I want to check my 100m time and 200m is one of my major events,’’ Dube said.
Chichichi is using today’s races to fine tune for next month’s Zimbabwe Tertiary Institution Sports Union Games to be held in Bulawayo. The 18-year-old is a Mining Engineering student at Zimbabwe School of Mines.

“I am competing in 400m and 400m hurdles, I want to check if I have improved, it should sub 60. I am preparing for the Zimbabwe University Sports Association (Zusa) Games in Bulawayo next month,’’ she said.

For the track, athletes will today compete in 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m, 10000, 100m hurdles, 110m hurdles and 4x400m relay. The field events available are discus, short put, javelin, high jump, long jump and triple jump.

Bulawayo Athletics Board chairman Manuel Mpofu said all the clubs in the city have confirmed that they are taking part in today’s Track and Field Championships. Even those who competed in yesterday’s Coca-Cola Four-Minute Mile are taking part in the long and middle distances at White Stadium today. -@Mdawini_29