VP Chiwenga expected in Paris for Olympic Games

Wallace Ruzvidzo in PARIS, France

VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga is expected to arrive here today to attend the 2024 Paris Olympic Games opening ceremony to be held on Friday.

Zimbabwe has seven athletes who will compete at the games, which run until August 11.

They will represent the country in athletics, rowing and swimming.

In the athletics field, Zimbabwe will be represented by sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu, who both qualified for the 200m dash, while Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora will partake in the marathon.

Paige van der Westhuizen and Denilson Cyprianos will represent the country in swimming while Stephen Cox will compete in rowing.

Team Zimbabwe’s chef de mission Ringisai Mapondera said the team was settling well.

“At the moment in camp, we have Stephen Cox and Denilson. Denilson arrived today (yesterday). We are expecting Paige later on today (yesterday).

“We also have the physiotherapist, Abigail Mnikwa. And I have the swimming coach (Masi Takaedza), who arrived yesterday (Sunday),” he said.

Mapondera said they were expecting to have a complement of five in the next two, three days.

Besides attending the official opening ceremony, VP Chiwenga has a number of business meetings lined up as the Second Republic continues to further its engagement and re-engagement diplomatic offensive.

The modern Olympic Games are the leading international sporting event featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate.

They are considered the world’s prime sports competition with 10 500 athletes representing 206 countries competing this year.

By default, the Games generally substitute for any world championships during the year in which they take place and are held every four years.

Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896.

The IOC is the governing body of the Olympic Movement, which encompasses all entities and individuals involved in the Olympic Games. The Olympic Charter defines their structure and authority.