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Mbachi Mutukula-Maregere Sports Reporter
REIGNING Zimbabwe Sportsperson of the Year Brendon de Jonge has once again been nominated for the Annual National Sports Awards set for December 11 in Harare.
The United States-based golfer had another successful season on tour as he recently played in the President’s Cup after being picked by fellow Zimbabwean Nick Price.
De Jonge, who is playing in the USPGA Tour, has featured in 30 events so far this season and only missed the cut on five occasions. He has also finished in the top 10 twice in the Farmers Insurance, where he came fifth, and in the Honda Tour, where he finished seventh.
The burly golfer is currently ranked seventh on the Africa Order of Merit and was invited for the Alfred Dunhill set for South Africa next month.
The former St John’s College student’s nomination for this year means that he stands a chance of retaining the coveted ANSA award. De Jonge is among the outstanding athletes in the Sportsman of the Year section where he will battle it out for the top award with karaketa Samson Muripo, who recently won a gold and silver medal at the World Kyokushin Championships in China.
Muripo also won a bronze medal in Bulgaria during another Kyokushin event.
The unveiling of the top three nominees for the awards will take place at Rainbow Towers on November 21. Muripo and De Jonge will fight it for the top honours with tennis player Takanyi Garanganga.
The top-ranked Zimbabwean player did well at an ITF Futures event in Turkey where he came first while finishing in third place from the same circuit in Kenya.
Bodybuilder Champion Chiendaramwano could be worth considering after winning the Muslemania and the Mr Zimbabwe titles this year.
Nominations have been closed and the judges’ panel is now making some deliberations on the selections, with the Zimbabwe motocross team hoping to get some recognition for the Team of the Year award after finishing second behind South Africa at this year’s FIM Africa Motocross of African Nations Championships in South Africa a couple of months ago while the beach volleyball team qualified for the World Cup and will also fancy their chances.
The Warriors could gatecrash into the nominees for the Team of the Year award after they qualified for the CHAN finals and reaching the Cosafa Cup final.
Veteran tennis player Cara Black is tipped to be among the front runners for the Sportswoman of the Year Award based on her good showing at the AFB Classic International where she won the doubles title.
Black, who is a previous winner of the Sportsperson of the Year award, fared well at the Madrid Open by reaching the doubles’ final. The top Zimbabwean female tennis player, now a mother of one, also had a good outing at the China Open and Tokyo Open events.
Another strong contender for the Sportswoman of the Year award is long-distance runner Olivia Chitate who won a bronze medal at the Sarppco Games in Namibia in August.
Olympic rower Micheen Thornycroft has also been nominated among the outstanding female athletes.
Thornycroft won the Africa Rowing Championships as well as the Zone Six Rowing competitions twice.
Online Reporter