Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda
Senior Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWEAN teenager, Danielle Kaschula broke is excited to have finished third at the 2021 World Rowing Indoor Championships where she competed in the women’s Under-19 500m final.
The youngster did not only win bronze but also broke the Under-14 world record.
Kaschula said her expectation was to finish in tenth place but was worked hard to finish third.
“I didn’t expect to win bronze, I thought I would just come out in the top 10 and I aimed coming out in the top 10 because I thought that would be great. When I finished in the top three, I was very excited, I just tried my best,’’ she said.
Kaschula, a form two pupil at Peterhouse at Peterhouse Girls in Marondera took part in the virtual event on Wednesday and finished third in a time of 1:31:9. It was a closely contested race where only 0.5 seconds separated Sara Mohamed El Marzouky of Egypt and Meg Knight of Great Britain. The 13-year old, who broke numerous indoor records during lockdown was third.
It was an amazing achievement for Kaschula who represented both Zimbabwe and Africa in this competition, having completed a rigorous qualification process. There is no doubt that she has certainly done her school and country proud considering her age since she was competing against much older girls.
Kaschula was backed by a small yet vocal audience at the Peterhouse Boys gym on Wednesday.
The teenager also rows on the water for the Peterhouse Boat Club and in the lead up to this qualification event, she competed in the African Indoor Rowing Championships and the Irish Indoor Rowing Championships, all virtually.
Kaschula is taking a three week break and focus on her winter training with her focus being on trying to break the 13-14 age group record for 500m, 1000m and 2000m.
@Mdawini_29
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