malvernmugadzikwa
Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
TEAM ZIMBABWE members have begun fine-tuning preparations at various venues with less than two weeks before the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Most of the members are set for maiden appearances in athletics, rowing and swimming at the global showpiece.
Athletics has the highest number of participants, with four representatives in the team.
These are marathon runners Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora, and sprinters Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba.
Rower Stephen Cox and swimmers Denilson Cyprianos and Paige van der Westhuizen join them.
National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara is pleased with the improvement after fielding one athlete on a universality slot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
“We are happy that we have contributed to the Paris Olympics team where we have four athletes — two sprinters and two marathon runners,” he said.
Mpofu, Charamba and Makarawu ran the qualifying times in their respective events and Nyahora was awarded a universality slot in the women’s marathon.
“We are very proud of this; the athletes qualified for their events all on their own,” said Tagara.
“I am happy that we have fulfilled one of our objectives, that in 2024, we definitely need a track athlete and they are there.
“We have marathon again, which is our strength, and we are now hoping that they do their best and make us proud. If we look at Mpofu, he has been doing well for some time now.
“He had a top 10 at the World Championships (in 2022), a top 20 at the last World Championships, Budapest (2023). These are all good indicators and we expect him to do well again.
“If he comes back again in the top 10 at the Olympics, that will be great. A medal is a bonus to us in terms of his performance.
“We expect our sprinters to reach the semi-finals and if they get to the final, then that is a bonus. Makarawu is a very good candidate for the finals.”
Makarawu qualified for the Olympics with a time of 19.93 seconds in 200m in April.
He won a silver medal in the same event at the Africa Senior Championships last month in Cameroon.
The two swimmers got universality slots from World Aquatics.
Cyprianos will compete in the men’s 200m backstroke, while Van der Westhuizen takes part in the women’s 100m freestyle.
Speaking during Team Zimbabwe’s management meeting last week, swimming representative Louise Benade said their swimmers’ participation at the Games was vital for the future.
“I think it’s massively important for both swimmers. With the feedback that I have been receiving from their respective coaches, they are both in the high-performance groupings within their training programmes.
“Their coaches have indicated that if they continue on the trajectory, then they can actually get qualifying times for Los Angeles (2028).
“I think that this participation is vital to them in terms of looking ahead in four years,” said Benade.
Both swimmers were part of Team Zimbabwe at the African Games, where Cyprianos won gold in the 200m backstroke and silver in the 100m backstroke.
Van De Westhuizen was part of the 4x100m women’s freestyle relay team that got bronze.
For rowing, Cox is up for the men’s single sculls after qualifying for the event last year.
He had his last race last week in the United Kingdom and is in Belgium fine-tuning his preparations.
Rowing Association of Zimbabwe president Andrew Lorimer said the last couple of months have been a busy schedule for Cox as he prepares for the Games.
“He has been to a lot of regattas this year. He has trained well. I want him to be fit and fresh for Paris,” he said.
“The last couple of regattas he has competed in came on the back of very intensive training programmes.
“I am very grateful that he had these
last couple of weeks to wind down training so that he would be in his very best in Paris.”
The rowing competition is due to take place from July 27 to August 3, while swimming also starts on July 27 and runs until August 4.
The athletics competition is scheduled for August 1 to 11.
Online Reporter