Stage set for White City athletics

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ONE hundred and fifty athletes have registered to compete in the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz)’s first event of the year, the National Open Championships on Saturday at White City Stadium in Bulawayo.

Athletes drawn from the country’s 10 provinces as well as security institutions such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police will compete in an empty stadium as fans are still barred.

Participants will compete in track and field events.

For track events, competitors will battle it out in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 1 500m, 5 000m and 10 000m, while field events will do long jump and javelin.

Naaz president Tendai Tagara said all is set for the Bulawayo meet and expressed his gratitude to the Government for allowing resumption of sporting activities.

Tagara said they will abide by Covid-19 protocols to ensure that they don’t lose the privilege of continuing with their activities.

Athletes will use Saturday’s meet to measure their fitness levels and help them prepare for international events.

Some athletes that have registered for the competition include female sprinters Faith Dube, Anita Ndlovu, Emmaculate Mapurisa and Dorothy Kavhumbura as well as javelin throwers Garfield Macebo and Samuel Ncube from Plumtree and St Bernard’s Tanaka Kasinga.
– @ZililoR