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Ellina Mhlanga–Senior Sports Reporter
NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe director for coaching, talent identification and development Lisimati Phakamile has hailed marathon runner Isaac Mpofu after he made the top 10 at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, yhe United States.
Zimbabwe have three athletes, including Mpofu, taking part at the meet.
The marathon runner was the first Zimbabwean in competition on Sunday and finished on position 10 in the men’s marathon, also setting a new national record.
The championships got underway last Friday and are running until July 24.
This was Mpofu’s second appearance at the World Championships and Phakamile, who is in charge of the team at the meet, was full of praise for the long-distance runner.
“I want to first of all congratulate Isaac for a sterling performance. That was wonderful running that he displayed here.
“Congratulations also extended to his training team, national head coach for middle and long-distance running Benson Chauke and the ground team for the good job, well done.
“I want to quickly also note that Isaac was very positive towards the race, very positive, mentally prepared for the race and believed that he would do something wonderful.
“The team was actually motivated, he was very motivated towards these championships and I am happy to say he actually achieved a lot of things from this race.
“First of all, setting a new national record for the marathon. And also managing to finish in the top 10 at the World Championships. This is a very significant and a very important performance in his career,” said Phakamile. Going into the race, Mpofu said he was targeting to run under 2:10 and he did just that, completing the race in 2 hours 07 minutes 56 seconds.
Phakamile said such a performance should open new opportunities for the athlete and is hopeful of more positive results in the future.
“I am sure this has enabled him to open and unlock a lot of doors for his career in athletics and in the distance running. I am actually quite excited.
“He was actually in a very good position during the race and also in a possible position for future improvement and development.
“It’s up to us now and him also to take it from here and push him further more as we prepare for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
“Once again I want to congratulate Isaac for the job well done and also the national association, the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe, for a wonderful performance and good job.” Phakamile also acknowledged the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee for their contribution towards the athletes’ journey to qualification and participation at the championships. Sprinter Tinotenda Matiyenga was scheduled to compete in the men’s 200m heats in the early hours of today.
The event was scheduled for 2:05am Zimbabwean time. Seven heats were lined up with the first three athletes from each heat plus three fastest times qualifying for the semi-final. Prior to Matiyenga’s qualification in 200m for the ongoing meet, Zimbabwe had last fielded a sprinter at the World Championships in 2015. In 2017 and 2019, Zimbabwe’s team was mainly made up of marathon runners. Triple Jumper Chengetayi Mapaya is also yet to compete.
Mapaya will be banking on his experience from the previous edition as he was part of the team that represented the country in 2019.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter