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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
YESTERDAY marked 500 days to go before the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee president Thabani Gonye said they need to take their build-up to the Games to the next level.
The Games will be held from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
As the countdown to the Games continues, the French Embassy in Zimbabwe, in partnership with ZOC, yesterday held a 5km run at Mukuvisi Woodlands to mark 500 days before the opening ceremony.
The run was part of the 24-hour relay around the world. More than 128 French Embassies and diplomatic representations labelised Land of Games (Terre de Jeux 2024) are part of the relay.
More than 128 French Embassies and diplomatic representations joined the relay.
“The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee is grateful to the organisers of the Paris 2024 who chose this day to commemorate.
“Particularly, this day for us as Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, it tells us we need to start taking stock, counting, and rendering all the best support to all the prospective and possible athletes that are currently chasing and vying to achieve the qualifying standards for the Paris 2024 Games,” said Gonye.
For Zimbabwe, most of the targeted athletes are still in the qualification phase, chasing the qualifying standards.
Throughout the day and in all continents and time zones based, each French Embassy organised a one-hour-long sporting event that kicked-off at 9am local time on a sport activity selected locally and passed the relay baton to the next Embassy soon after their event.
The French Embassy in Zimbabwe received the relay baton virtually from their counterparts in Qatar at 9am. They handed it over to French Embassies in Angola and Spain soon after the race.
French Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Laurent Chevallier, said the common goal is to promote sport as he acknowledged ZOC for the partnership in organising the event, athletes who participated and Mukuvisi Woodlands team for hosting the run.
“The 14th March 2023 is a special day as it is 500 days before the opening ceremony of the French Olympic Games. In the run-up of this very important event, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs is organising a 24-hour sports relay around the world that crosses five continents and time zones.
“More than 128 French Embassies and diplomatic representations labelised, Land of Games, have joined this relay.
“Our common objective today is to promote sports and the Olympic values in Zimbabwe, namely excellence, friendship and respect. It is also an opportunity to highlight and show the amazing environment of Zimbabwe.”
Participants received an attendance certificate.
So far marathon runner, Isaac Mpofu, is the only athlete that has qualified for the Paris Games.
He was among the participants at yesterday’s event together with another marathon runner, Fortunate Chidzivo, who is pursuing qualification in the women’s section.
Chidzivo said as athletes they need to up their game.
“It means we have to pull up our socks. We have to tie the shoes, we still need to qualify. So we still have a long way to go because after qualifying we have to prepare for the actual event. So I think it’s a sign to pull up our socks,” said Chidzivo.
Mpofu was happy to be part of yesterday’s event.
“Today I was happy as I have already qualified for the Olympics . . . But my target now is to try and at least be in the top five, both in Olympics and World Championships, or if I may be lucky to get a medal, that would be great,” Mpofu said.
Mpofu was the first to cross the finish line, followed by Chidzivo.
Ambassador Chevallier also took part in the run together with deputy head of mission and head of cooperation, Anne Bourdy, and several staff members.
ZOC president, Gonye, acting chief executive Memory Pakati and some of their staff, Olympians Tendai Chimusasa and Abel Chimukoko as well as Mukuvisi Woodlands corporate liaison officer, Allain Chimanikire, were among the participants.
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