adminFrom Ray Bande in Mutare
ELIJAH Mabhunu outpaced over 70 competitors to win the 2014 edition of the Tanganda Tea half-marathon in here yesterday.
Mabhunu, who is still basking in the glory of snatching pole position in the Econet-sponsored Victoria Falls race, completed the 21km race in 1 hour 6 minutes 34 seconds.
Zimbabwe National Army’s Millen Matende came second when he romped home in 1 hour 7 minutes 56 seconds while Munyaradzi Jari came third after crossing the finish line in 1 hour 8 minutes two seconds.
Jonathan Chinyoka failed to defend his Tanganda Tea half-marathon title he won last year and came a distant eighth after completing the race in 1 hour 38 minutes 39 seconds.
In the tightly-contested women’s race, Constance Nyasango, wife to Olympian Cuthbert, ruled the roost when she completed the race in 1 hour 18 minutes 26 seconds.
She narrowly beat Olivia Chitate who completed the race just 18 seconds behind Nyasango while third placed Rutendo Nyahora crossed the finish line in 1 hour 19 minutes 54 seconds.
In the 10km senior males’ competition, Jacob Mugomeri came first in 30 minutes five seconds while Wellington Varevi settled for second position when he completed the race in 31 minutes 34 seconds.
In the women’s category of the same race, Muchaneta Gwata came first line in 39 minutes 23 seconds while Melody Kaseke settled for second place after clocking 49 minutes 35 seconds.
Amos Mozes and Samukeliso Moyo won the veterans 10km males’ and females’ categories after completing their respective races in 44 minutes 10 seconds and 39 minutes 21 seconds.
Nomore Mpiwa won the 10km junior males category when he finished the race in 34 minutes 11 seconds while Tinashe Mumera won the women’s section after completing the race in 34 minutes 5 seconds.
Tanganda Tea company operations manager Farai Garai expressed satisfaction at the level of competition witnessed at this year’s competition.
“As sponsors we are happy with the crowd we managed to attract and the good thing is that we also had most of the best athletes on the local scene. We have every reason to pledge that the competition will be on next year again.
“We also made it a point that we are not going to award just number one to four only. In some categories, we managed to source prizes even for those that finished in 10th position.
“The reason being that we did not want to discourage athletes after going through the strenuous long distance competition,” he said.
This year’s Tanganda Tea half-marathon event also included categories for relays, wheelchair, grandmasters, High Schools and tertiary institutions.
Online Reporter