CHAMWA RAISES FLAG HIGH

Liberty Dube
DANGAMVURA-born long-distance runner Tendai Chamwandoita raised Manicaland flag high by scooping a bronze medal at the just-ended Soweto Marathon held in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Sunday.
The 42km men’s race was attended by more than 20 000 athletes from across the world.
Chamwandoita completed the race in three hours 10 minutes while the winner of the race, Sintayehu Legese Yinesu, an Ethiopian, was crowned 2014 champion in the race.

Yinesu won the race in two hours, 17 minutes and 55 seconds while Lesotho’s Motlokoa Nkhabutlak came in second and Tebogo Sello finished third. Defending champion Shadrack Kemboi and former winners Michael Mazibuko and Teboho Sello were among the runners.

First 10 winners received gold medals while second group got silver. Chamwandoita and colleagues who were in group three received bronze medals in a race the former pacesetter for long-distance runner Stephen Muzhingi believed he could have done better.

The lanky runner was aiming a top 10 place.
“I could have done better. I am not very happy because we started with tresses panic since we were late by five minutes due to traffic congestion. We took off while others were about eight kilometres away so I was under pressure. Adding to this, the athletes were so crowded and this subsequently made it difficult to go past other runners. We were more than 22 000,” said the former Dangamvura High School student.

“I, however, thank God for this. It was quite a challenging race that needed the best of me. I finished the race on a reputable position and I will keep focused. I would like to thank several people who made my expedition successful. These include Reverend Mutanho, Ras Tsopotsa and Mutare Arts, the media, wife Heather and family as well as members of the St James Methodist Church.

The lanky runner’s previous accolades include a silver medal in the 2013-2014 Two Countries Marathon (from Beitbridge to Musina) as well as a bronze medal in the 56km Two Oceans Marathon (Atlantic to Indian Ocean). Last year, he finished on position 63 in the Two Oceans Marathon which saw about 26 000 runners taking part in the race.

Chamwandoita’s preparations for the race were not so smooth. They were marred by financial hiccups which somehow contributed to the result.

He did piece jobs around Mutare town to raise funds for training, transport and accommodation. He left Zimbabwe on Thursday and arrived on Friday night. He rested for just a day before he took part in the energy-sapping race.