adminEllina Mhlanga
Sports Reporter
WITH focus shifting to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Zimbabwe are hoping for a change of fortunes after fielding a small team at the last edition in Tokyo.
Zimbabwe had five athletes competing at the rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which saw the issue of qualification becoming topical and a concern as the numbers went down compared to the other previous editions.
Three of the athletes received universality slots.
It was one of the highlights during the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee’s annual meeting a week ago as focus also shifts to the next Games.
Preparations for the forthcoming edition have begun with 10 athletes having received Olympic Solidarity athletes’ scholarships and the chef de mission was appointed last month. ZOC have indicated they are targeting to qualify 10 athletes and one team sport for the Games and are hoping for partners, sponsors and the Government to come on board and assist so that more athletes get the opportunity to qualify.
Reflecting on the past edition, former Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive, Robert Mutsauki, said a number of factors, including Covd-19, had an effect on qualification and preparations for the Tokyo Games.
“We definitely took a knock last year for various reasons and so we had to go back to the drawing board and I am glad to note that the current ZOC strategic plan addresses a number of actual and potential challenges as well as providing direction on the way forward.”
The seasoned administrator pointed out that the progressive raising of qualification standards, particularly in individual sports such as athletics and swimming by the international federations to improve competitiveness and keep the number of athletes competing at the Games at manageable level, also means direct qualification has become difficult.
However, he said it’s possible for Zimbabwe to have 10 athletes qualifying for Paris 2024.
“As part of preparations for Paris 2024, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee are systematically implementing their 2021–2025 strategic plan.
“One of the four key performance areas in that strategic plan is ‘Athlete Development and Support’ and the overall goal under this focus area is to ensure that Team Zimbabwe is adequately supported and prepared to perform optimally at the world level competitions, including the Olympics.
“A number of specific strategic objectives and interventions required to achieve this goal have been clearly outlined. “I believe that the strategic objective of ensuring that at least 10 athletes qualify for Paris 2024 in individual sports is not only possible but also realistic if the various interventions are systematically activated. “I would also say evidence available, based on recent performances by our top athletes, points to the fact that we are on track to achieve the set objective and we just need to stay the course,” said Mutsauki.
Some of the athletes benefiting from the Olympic Solidarity include distance runner Isaac Mpofu and triple jumper Chengetayi Mapaya. They were both at the World Athletics Championships recently with Mpofu impressing while Mapaya had a disappointing show despite a promising performances ahead of the meet. “Already there are 10 athletes from different individual sports benefiting from Olympic Solidarity scholarships and two of them (Isaac Mpofu and Chengetayi Mapaya) represented Zimbabwe at the just-ended World Athletic Championships where Mpofu distinguished himself by finishing 10th and posting a world class time of 2:07.56 in the men’s marathon.
“Mapaya, on the other hand, attained a top six world ranking this year and if he had not encountered technical challenges with his run up at the World Championships and if he had maintained his recent form, he could have easily finished the triple jump competition among the top four.
“Golfer Scott Vincent was our best performer at Tokyo 2020 with a joint 16th placing and he continues to excel in international competitions. So, naturally if all goes well and he continues on his current positive trajectory, one expects him to attain at least a top 10 placing at Paris 2024.
Online Reporter