The sporting year that was . . .

It was a period littered with both success and failures and as we look to embrace the new year, The Herald reflects on some of the major highlights of the 2011 sporting season.
The big news was that of the “golden girl” Kirsty Coventry scooping more gold medals on the African shores and overseas, and Ngoni Makusha grabbing the country’s first ever athletics world championship medal.

While it was another sad year for football, which, however, remains the number one sport in the country, following the failure by the Warriors to qualify for next year’s African Cup Nations, off the field, the nation was held spellbound by the historic visit of Fifa president Sepp Blatter in July.
The Swiss football leader was invited by the Zifa board and on July 4 flew into the capital for a one-day visit which coincided with the Cosafa Women Championships.
Blatter toured the Fifa Goal Project before he met President Robert Mugabe at State House and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

He also briefly watched the Mighty Warriors thump Malawi 8-2 before addressing a Press conference at the Rainbow Towers where he pledged to give Zifa a little more than Fifa normally gives to associations in grants.
“To recapitalise Zifa, we should have a specific report on what type of problems they are facing, but we are working on their request to recapitalise. Perhaps we can give a little more here than we normally give. When the initiatives are there something can be done.
Football

The Mighty Warriors regained their place in the nation’s heart when they returned to competitive football and qualified for the All-Africa Games in Mozambique.
The Mighty Warriors won the Cosafa title for the first time, on home soil, beating the region’s all-time record winners South Africa 1-0 in the final at Rufaro. Charmed by the victory the team’s patron President Robert Mugabe invited the Mighty Warriors for a reception at State House and the team received a cash windfall of US$120 000.
However, the team failed to reproduce their form at the Pan-African Games in Maputo and finished seventh out of eight teams.
The Mighty Warriors were voted the second-best team behind the Rugby national team at the Annual National Sports Awards while coach Rose Mugadza was also crowned the second best coach

this season behind Sables rugby mentor Brendon Dawson.
While everything appeared to be on track on the feminine side of football, it was not the case in the men’s game as the Warriors, again, failed to qualify for the Nations Cup finals.
It was the manner in which Zimbabwe failed to qualify that was heartbreaking as Norman Mapeza’s charges went into the last game with destiny not in their hands. The Warriors required not only victory to boost their chances, but they also needed a favour from Liberia who were hosting group leaders Mali.
The Lone Star of Liberia held Mali to a brave 2-2 draw in Monrovia but the Warriors, away in Praia, succumbed to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Cape Verde.
Musona’s move to Germany’s Bundesliga club TSG Hoffeinheim was also big news here and across the Limpopo where his former club side Kaizer Chiefs were reported to have pocketed R25 million from the deal.

The nation was also set in panic mode following the release of the Asiagate report.
The report, compiled by the Zifa board committee of Ndumiso Gumede, Elliot Kasu and Benedict Moyo, fingered some prominent names among the players and officials who took part in the infamous Asian trips.

The visit by Fifa head of security, Chris Eaton, on a fact-finding mission in September also grabbed international headlines as Zimbabwe made efforts to cleanse the game.
On the domestic front, the Premier Soccer League, which has been crying for partnerships for sometime, managed to secure some sponsorship deals with Delta Beverages coming aboard to sponsor the top-flight league under the company’s Castle Lager brand.
BancABC and Net One also strengthened their relationships with the top-flight after sponsoring other cup competitions.
The Premier Soccer League, led by Twine Phiri, also secured the US$1 million Mbada Diamonds Cup, a knockout tournament for all the 16 top-flight clubs.

Harare giants Dynamos were the biggest winners after completing a remarkable league and cup double. DeMbare won the inaugural Mbada Diamonds Cup and were also crowned the league champions after finishing the past three seasons as bridesmaids. Their goalkeeper Washington Arubi was named the Castle Lager Soccer Star of the Year and also bagged the Premiership’s Goalkpeer of the Year award after a good season. The local Premiership was flighted on SuperSport as a test run as the giant television network seeks to add local football to their coverage.
The football story would be incomplete without mentioning FC Platinum. The team, promoted this year, made headlines as they raided the transfer market, tossing big bucks and for the first time local footballers could afford to buy houses with signing on fees.

Kirsty Coventry
The swimming icon made headlines again this year when she scooped four gold and a silver medal at the All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, in September to be crowned Sportsperson of the Year.

The gifted swimmer who also grabbed medals at the Setti Collin in Italy and Mare Nostrum in Monaco, underlined her status as the greatest athlete to emerge from this country.Coventry was also named the Female African Swimmer of the Year for 2011 following her exploits at the Maputo Games.
Coventry has already qualified for the Summer Olympic Games which will run from July 27 to August 12.

Ngonidzashe Makusha
United States-based sprinter Ngoni Makusha really made news in America and put little Zimbabwe on the world map following his exploits in track and field events.
He became the first Zimbabwean to win a medal at the IAAF World Athletics Championships after getting a bronze in Daegu, South Korea, in August.
The athlete was also named the Florida State University’s National Track Athlete of the Year after he won the 100-metre dash title at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Outdoor Track and Field

Championship in a record time of 9.89 seconds in June, breaking Fabian Muayaba’s national record set in 1990.
Makusha capped a fine year when he won the prestigious Bowerman Award in the United States earlier this month given to the top collegiate track and field athlete of the year in that country. Makusha was surprisingly not recognised at home as he was disqualified by the Sports Commission and was not short-listed for the Annual National Sports Awards.

Stephen Muzhingi
Ultra-marathon runner Steven Muzhingi was again under spotlight this year when he won South Africa Comrades Marathon for the third year running. The athlete, who in the past had said his achievements are better recognised in South Africa than at home, was finally invited to the State House by President Mugabe and rewarded for raising the nation’s flag high in the South African event.
Muzhingi also competed in the Two Oceans Marathon where he settled for a silver medal and was invited to the New York Marathon where he, however, found the going tough, finishing a disappointing 33rd position.
He was crowned the Sportsman of the Year for the 2011.

Cricket
Zimbabwe made a welcome return to the Test arena in August this year when they beat Bangladesh in their first match since 2005.
More positive was the thawing of relations with the international community with Australia and New Zealand sending their A teams to Zimbabwe this year.
Despite the disappointing campaigns in international competitions earlier in the year, the Zimbabwe team confirmed their hunger for success when they went on to win the One Day International series against Bangladesh.

But they could not stand the heat in the next assignments against Pakistan and New Zealand. Captain Brendan Taylor led from the front. One of the highlights of his career was the record-breaking achievement after he became the first Zimbabwean to hit back-to-back ODI centuries with his unbeaten 128 and 107 against New Zealand.
He scooped the biggest prizes at the ZC awards ceremony recently when he was named Cricketer of the Year and Batsman of the Year.
Matabeleland Tuskers beat the other four franchises to the valued signature of former West Indies skipper Chris Gayle although they could not make the final despite a promising start to the Stanbic T20 campaign.

Australian Dirk Nannes, Netherlands national Ryan ten Deschate and the English trio of Peter Trego, Rory Hamilton Brown and Phil Mustered also joined the trek. Mountaineers were crowned champions with their overseas player Mustered making a priceless contribution.
ZC won the Sports administration of the year award and the Sports development of the year at the Annual National Sports Awards.

Golf
The second edition of the Africom Zimbabwe Open was also a major highlight on the local golfing calendar with the South Africans dominating as Thenius Spangenberg won the event. Ignatius Mketekete was in outstanding form as he was the best local golfer after he tied for 23rd with United States-based Bruce McDonald.
The local circuit saw the introduction of the Zambezi Tour, which brought about several tournaments for professional golfers.

In the women’s circles, Claire Minter was in terrific form as she won most of the local tournaments.
Brendon de Jonge did well in the US PGA as he recorded double top 10 finishes while Clive Nguru also did well.

Karate
For the karate family former World Champion Samson Muripo failed to defend his title at the World Cup held in Kazakhstan when he came second at the event.

However, Muripo won the most spirited fighter award at the same tournament. The bino-ryu style hosted their inaugural National Invitational tournament and was graced by Indian Grandmaster Santanu Srinivasan.

Olympic Games
Female administrator Anna Mguni made history when she was appointed the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive, becoming the first female to do so

Motorsport
Ace Zimbabwe motor racing driver Conrad Rautenbach capped a fine season after he was crowned the 2011 African champion.
Rautenbach this year clinched the African Rally Championship Drivers’ crown for the second time in his illustrious career, snatching the title from fellow Zimbabwean Jamie Whyte. The 27-year old finished top of the pack after eight rounds of the African championship series.