adminEllina Mhlanga
Sports Reporter
MAKING the Olympic Games is a priority for Munyaradzi Jari and he is leaving no stone unturned to meet the qualifying time in the marathon.
The long-distance runner left the country three weeks ago for a three-month training camp under the guidance of Kenyan coach, Erick Kimaiyo.
“Things are tough because most races are cancelled. I was hoping to run the Valencia Marathon on December 6 but, after arriving here, the coach said it’s too early to go for a race as in December.
“We will be starting speed work for races, either towards the end of January or the first week of February.
“So, I just took the coach’s advice as it will also be good to have a race next year because I can qualify for both the Olympics and the World Championships.
“As for now, training is going on well and I am looking forward for a new personal best time and good qualifying time for the Olympics and World Championships.
“At the moment we are still working on strength training,” said Jari.
The seasoned runner is one of the several athletes earmarked for qualification by the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe.
He was at the World Championships last year, which gave him an insight of what is needed, if he is going to be among the athletes to grace the rescheduled Games in Japan next year.
Kenya has produced the world’s best distance runners for decades and Jari believes training with the best will help his efforts to try and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“It’s now three weeks since I came here. The programme is world-class because it’s the same programme that has produced women’s world record holder, Brigid Kosgei.
“The camp is for three months and there are many top athletes, all of them winners of most races in Europe and Asia.
“Training with world-class athletes is also motivating and helping me to push myself and be strong to achieve my goal,” Jari said.
Before leaving for Kenya, Jari was training on his own, getting a programme from South African manager, Craig Fry, with NAAZ president, Tendai Tagara, also assisting.
The likes of Fortunate Chidzivo, Rutendo Nyahora, Isaac Mpofu and Ngonidzashe Ncube have also been stepping up their training.
Chidzivo was in Poland last month for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships.
For the sprints, coach David Tinago has been working with Ngoni Makusha, Itai Vambe, Dickson Kamungeremu and Tatenda Tsumba hoping they also qualify.
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