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Takudzwa Chtsiga
Sports Reporter
MOSES Tarakinyu and Olivia Chitate proved they were a cut above the rest after they scooped the second edition of the Musabvunda Sports and Fitness Festival half marathon at the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Sports Club yesterday.
Tarakinyu crossed the line in the 21 km men’s category in 1hr:7 mins46sec. Chitate also dominated the women’s category with a time of 1hr:25minutes.
Tarakinyu finished ahead of Elijah Mabhunu, who crossed the line second in 1hr:07mins:53sec. Defending champion Ebel Chibanda found the going tough and finished in third place with a time of 1hr:8mins:20sec.
The Black Rhinos athlete Tarakinyu said the competition will help him to prepare for the upcoming international events.
“We want to thank Musabvunda for hosting this event. These competitions are important as they will also help us to improve our times and prepare for other international events that will be coming up.
“I’m aiming to run a half marathon in less than 60 minutes, so with these events it will help me to improve and develop as an athlete.
“I also have another half marathon that I will be participating in the coming months in South Africa. So it is the competitions like these that will help me to evaluate my strength and times,” said Tarakinyu.
In the women’s category, Chitate outpaced Philipa Dube and Shylet Magadza, who came second and third respectively.
The ZRP athlete crossed the line first, ahead of Dube who trailed some five minutes behind with a time of 1hr:30mins:08sec. Magadza occupied the last podium place in 1hr:31mins:03sec.
Zimbabwe Republic Police runner Chitate was also left elated with the win.
“I want to thank God that I have managed to win this race. As usual competition is always difficult but I did my best and with the help of God I did manage to win.
“We want to thank the sponsors who are coming on board because this will also increase our financial benefits as athletes because we don’t want to live in destitution after retiring. So we are glad with the organisation of the event,” said Chitate.
In the men’s 10 km race, Wellington Varevi came first ahead of Godknows Mhondera and Tawanda Bvunzawabaya.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service athlete Patience Murowe outpaced Ossly Murambidzi and Neviah Magadzo who were placed second and third.
One of the event partners, Morelife Water chief executive officer Nigel Makina welcomed the initiative as a critical component in the promotion and development of sports in the country.
“As Morelife Water we just look at fitness as a way to make people healthy. So we decided to partner with Musabvunda events because we just felt our values and objectives are aligned.
“We know they want people to stay healthy and fit and our aim is for people to stay hydrated. Our goals just got aligned and we are also trying to make our brands grow. So it is our target that we grow together,” said Makina.
The event organiser, who is also the Cadence Sports Academy director, Kudzai Pasipanodya was impressed by the turnout and level of competition. He also promised to continue making it an annual event.
“We are so excited by the turnout and the performances. We never thought we could exceed the last year numbers but we have managed to have double of the last year numbers.
“We saw various age groups from under-12 to the masters taking part.
“We are also happy with the support we got from various corporates who have come on board and contributed immensely to the success of this event.
“That’s why we have top athletes participating because of those corporates who have also contributed the financial incentives for the winners.
“So we are so excited with how the event has turned out and we promise to make it a better and bigger event next time,” said Pasipanodya.
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