Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter
TENDAI ZIMUTO and Olivia Chitate were crowned champions of the Baldwin Holdings Costa Mangwende Takawira 10 000 metres marathon challenge, which was held at the National Sports Stadium on Saturday.
Zimuto scooped gold in the men’s category with a time of 30 minutes and 11 seconds, beating Ebel Chibanda, who came second with a time of 30 minutes and 21 seconds
Blessing Waison’s time of 30 minutes and 38 seconds saw him finish third.
In the women’s category, Chitate came first with a time of 36 minutes 44 seconds, while Rudo Mhonderwa was second with a time of 37 minutes 36 seconds.
The winners of the two races walked away with prize money of US$300.
Said National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) president, Tendai Tagara:
“We are happy that for the first time in more than 20 years, NAAZ managed to host a 10 000 metres’ race on the track with athletes getting prize money for podium finishes.”
The NAAZ president revealed that due to a lack of sponsorship, the 10 000m challenge had been shunned by athletes in recent years.
“In the past, athletes have been ignoring the 10 000m track challenge, because it was not incentivised.
“However, I am happy to report that the coming in of Baldwin Investments has reignited the interest among the athletes for this track marathon,” he said.
Athletes that finished second and third walked away with US$200 and US$100 each, respectively.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter