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Mzingaye Sibanda Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO has been given the nod to play host to Olympics Day Celebrations on June 28 at White City Stadium after hosting a successful event last year.
Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive officer Anna Mguni confirmed the development.
The celebrations are part of the build up to the hosting of the Region Five Youth Games that are set for December in Bulawayo.
“We saw a good opportunity to spread the event around and we had a good event last year there so we saw it fit to hold it in Bulawayo again,” Mguni said.
Harare has been traditionally the preferred venue for the celebrations but last year when the games moved out of the capital, the celebrations were also moved.
Mguni said the aim is to celebrate Olympism and share its values with the country at large.
“We want to share the values of Olympism, since Bulawayo will also host the Region Five Games later this year,” she said.
A number of Olympic sports would be on display with participants drawn from primary and secondary schools, colleges, amateur as well as professional athletes.
The 5KM fun and the 10KM races will be the major highlights of the day.
Last year Godlwayo Primary School Wushu Club stole the show with a commendable exhibition.
Wushu is one of martial art sports from China which is neither karate nor kung fu but an exhibition sport which has less contact.
Zimbabwe has produced a number of Olympics legends such as Kirsty Coventry, Elliot Mujaji, hockey legend Pat Mckillop.
Highlanders’ goalkeepers’ coach Peter “Oxo” Nkomo and Tapiwa Mudyambanje are also among the Olympians. They were some of the Under-23 soccer team players that participated at the Olympics in Moscow in 1980.
derick.khumalo