Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BLACK Rhinos Athletics Club athlete Tapiwa Chineka put up a brilliant performance to win gold in the Zambia Track and Field Championships 800m event in a time of 1 minute 49,33 seconds at the weekend.
Chineka was part of 25 Zimbabwean athletes from three clubs that participated in the meet in a bid to improve their times for Olympic qualification.
The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) national director of coaching and talent identification development Phakamile Lisimathi said they were impressed with some of the athletes’ performances, adding that they were using the race to prepare for the country’s championships set for Harare on May 23.
Among athletes that took part in the Zambia meet were sprinter Ngoni Makusha, Dickson Kamukaremu, Phillimon Dlodlo and Tapiwa Makarau.
Makusha posted his best time, running the 100m race in 10,2 seconds, while Kamukaremu completed the same race in 10,41 seconds and Dlodlo clocked 10,63 seconds.
Garren Muwushi completed the 400m men’s final in 47,45 seconds.
Michelle Zuze ran a time of 12,17 seconds, while Lisa Mutandwa completed the event in 13,3 seconds in the women’s event.
“Clubs did very well to send all these athletes to Zambia. This competition was very key and pivotal in helping our athletes prepare for the
National Championships to be held this coming weekend at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
“So, generally we appreciate the efforts being made by the clubs. We also appreciate the support and cooperation that we’re getting from SRC and Naaz as they avail opportunities for athletes to showcase their talent.
“We hope we’ll get better performances in Harare as we’re targeting qualifiers for the Africa Senior Championships and the Olympics from these guys.” — @ZililoR
Online Reporter