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Allen Khumalo, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO province defended their National Cross-Country Championship title after finishing top of the table during the event staged at Hillside Dams yesterday.
Harare province emerged second while Matabeleland South were third despite them not fielding any runner in the senior women’s category.
The remainder of the provinces were not graded after failing to field athletes in two or more categories.
Bulawayo’s athletics team manager Musawenkosi Thabane was elated with the defence of their title.
“I’m happy because our team managed to defend the title. Of course, we expected some challenges, one of them being that the province has never dominated in long distances.
“The last time we dominated was the period between 1998 and 2000. During that time we had strong athletes that represented the country in regional events.
“This is truly an important achievement because all along we have been good in sprint competitions,” said Thabane.
“I must also give credit to our juniors, who really performed beyond our expectations.
“This shows that the province is returning to its glory days and we hope to continue with this good work.
“Even our developmental side (cadets) showed that we are on the right track as a province. I believe the future of athletics in Bulawayo is bright,” he said.
Bulawayo dominated in the cadet 2.5km race, with Tariro Ndlovu coming first in the girls’ category followed by teammates Ratidzo Nyathi and Talent Sibindi.
Ndlovu finished the race in a time of nine minutes 53.62 seconds, while Nyathi and Sibindi clocked nine minutes 57.93 seconds and 10 minutes 01.56 seconds respectively.
In the cadet boys’ race, Bulawayo’s Hillary Sibindi came first in a time of eight minutes 49.93s. His teammates Luckmore Mpofu and Quinton Chivimbiso crossed the line in eight minutes 50.23s and eight minutes 51.93s respectively.
Bulawayo Athletics Board (BAB) chairman Manuel Mpofu was pleased with the competition and its outcome.
“As the host province, we are satisfied with today’s event. Everything went well and we managed to defend the championship.
“When you are at home, you have to do your best and I think Bulawayo athletes really took all the chances they had and home ground advantage worked in their favour.
“I can safely say it was a success and there was a lot of improvement from athletes compared to previous competitions,” said Mpofu.
He said focus would now shift to the Africa Cross-Country Championships to be held in Kampala, Uganda, next month.
“Right now focus is on the next stage where we are sending eight athletes, which include four senior men, two junior men and one athlete from the junior and senior women to represent the country in the Africa Cross-Country Championships.
“Their names will be officially announced and we hope they will make the country proud in that event,” Mpofu said.
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