Vusumuzi Dube
Innocent Kurira , Sports Reporter
OUT of a field of nine athletes, seven managed to progress to the next stage of the Coca-Cola Four-Minute Mile Challenge qualifiers held at Morris Depot in Harare yesterday.
The Coca-Cola Four-Minute Mile Challenge is an annual men’s competition with a pre-requisite time of four minutes 31 seconds for one to qualify for the final.
The final takes place on the final day of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) on the last day of the trade showcase.
Before yesterday, only two athletes had qualified for the next stage. Munyaradzi Zizhou and Mthokozisi Mhlanga, both from Blanket Mine had booked their place in the semi-finals.
Nyasha Mutsetse managed a time of four minutes, 20 seconds while Levison Mapfuwa finished in four minutes, 21 seconds.
Nomore Wiriki had a time of four minutes, 23 seconds with Trust Hove crossing the line after four minutes, 24 seconds. Godwin Katakura was not far behind with a time of four minutes 25 seconds.
The Black Rhinos duo of Munashe Mundure and Bornface Jeki ended the list of those that made it to the semi-finals with the times of four minutes 27 seconds and four minutes 30 seconds respectively.
Normally, a semi-final is held because of the high number of athletes that make it past the qualifying stage. However, it was not the case last year where athletes struggled to qualify resulting in the semi-finals getting cancelled.
A total of 12 athletes ran last year’s final. Wellington Varevi came out tops last year.
It was the third time that Varevi has won the race after he did so in 2014 when he was just 20 years old and 2018 at the age of 24.
The 28-year-old crossed the finish line in a time of four minutes, 13,64 seconds, Nyasha Mutsetse was second in four minutes, 14,31 seconds and Nomore Wiriki was third in four minutes, 14.87 seconds.
Katakura went into the race with the best qualifying time of four minutes, 10,66 seconds but could only settle for fourth place in four minutes, 15,28 seconds.
Mutsetse’s reward was $56 000, Wiriki pocketed $49 000 while Katakura went home $42 000 richer.
The race is sponsored by Coca-Cola and its bottling partners in Zimbabwe, Delta Beverages.
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Online Reporter