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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
HAVING represented the country at various competitions last year, sprinter Denzel Simusialela is optimistic of a positive performance at the African Under-18 and Under-20 Combined Championships in Ndola, Zambia.
The championships begin on Saturday and run until next week Wednesday with upcoming athletes from the continent competing in track and field events.
Zimbabwe are competing in both the Under-18 (youth) and Under-20 (juniors) competitions. The youth and junior teams are scheduled to leave for Zambia today.
Simusialela is representing the country in the Under-20 section, and he is one of the medal hopefuls in his age-group.
The 19-year-old was part of the 4x100m relay team that won bronze at the African Senior Championships last year in Mauritius.
He went on to represent the country at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Colombia and at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Youth Games in Malawi.
“The experience and exposure will very much come in handy because I am now quite confident and I believe in this competition I will be one of the top guys. It boosts your confidence level.
“I will be quite confident that I will move to the next round because I have competed with senior athletes. They taught me how to handle pressure and to compete when it’s needed most because at the Africa Senior Championships where we got the bronze medal in the 4x100m, I was the only junior.
“I was only 18, and running with the seniors there was quite a lot of pressure but they taught me to relax and to stay focused. It’s now in my mind and in my programme, in each and every competition,” said Simusialela.
At the Region Five Youth Games he got a bronze medal in 100m and helped the 4x100m relay team win a silver medal.
He is going to compete in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay in Zambia.
This will be his last year in the junior category and would want to end on a high.
“Personally with my preparations, I think my goal is running national records. So I want to leave something for the juniors… I want to also motivate some youngsters that are also coming up to the level that I was exposed to before I got to the senior level.
“The preparations have been great because I have been training with my colleagues who are helping me in terms of pushing me to go all the way. We are pushing each other towards getting to that top level in terms of preparation.
“I am very satisfied because me and my coach we have been working for this for quite a long time. So I am now in a phase where I now want to compete more than train. So I can say I am ready,” said Simusialela.
The Bulawayo-based athlete is coached by Faith Dube.
Also expected to rise to the occasion is Samkeliso Ndebele who will represent the country in the Under-20 women’s section.
Ndebele represented the country at the delayed 2020 World Under-20 Championships that were held in 2021 in Kenya.
“I expect to run fast times and I also want to win a medal. I really expect to run fast times because this is my last year in the juniors.
“So I really need to run fast and I am ready for the challenge.
“Everyone is doing well, we are trying our best and we push each other to run fast times and to improve here and there,” said Ndebele.
She is set to compete in 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
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