Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
NATIONAL head coach youth and junior team Briad Nhubu says they have assembled a formidable team for the upcoming Southern Region Under-18 — Under-20 Championships.
The competition, expected to feature mainly teams from the Southern Africa Region, and is slated for June 5-7.
The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe have a 20-member team of Under-18s and Under-20s to compete in track and field events.“Basically, we have assembled a formidable team for the Under-20s.
“They are the best athletes we have so far for the events that we have fielded.
“And amongst them we have some who had posted good times that are qualification times for World Athletics Championships in America. “So, we hope that if they maintain the standards they displayed at the Inter-provincial Championships, they will definitely be able to sail from the heats.
“And we also have a promising youthful team that we have assembled. We look forward to them proceeding from the heats to the semis, possibly the finals,” said Nhubu.
Nhubu said while some of the athletes posted times within the qualifying standards for the World Under-20 Championships during the inter-provincial meet, they are still working on having the times verified by World Athletics.
Some of the leading juniors that are part of the team are sprinter Trey Chimunya, who is the reigning NASH Nationals 100m champion. He emerged at the top again in the same event at the NAAZ Inter-provincial Junior and Senior Championships last month. Anesu Nyahuma, who is currently in Ghana for the Africa Senior Championships, is also part of the team.
“Looking at athletes like Trey Chimunya, he is quite experienced and has competed in several championships in the region, and also he was part of the contingent that went to Nigeria in 2025.
“We had him at the Region 5 Games in Namibia, where he managed to even challenge Botswana and South Africa, whom we think are the powerhouse of sprints these days in Africa.
“We decided to send Anesu to Ghana so that she will have a more competitive competition that might push her to qualify for the World Junior Championships.
“Looking at the profile and the way she has been performing in the previous competitions, regionally and even at a continental level, she has been very consistent in her performance,” said Nhubu.
It has been a busy season for most of the athletes, with a number of competitions that contributed to the selection of the team, including the selection events held by NAAZ and the NASH meet.
And they will continue working with their coaches at their respective clubs ahead of next month’s meet.
“They have been preparing thoroughly, I think it’s been about two weeks now since we had the Inter-provincial Championships.
“These athletes actually were quite aware that they were going to be representing the country in Mauritius.
“And they have been doing a lot of preparation with their, of course, club coaches.”
Most of the juniors will be hoping to take advantage of the championships, to continue pursuing qualification for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships due to take place in August in the US.
Team Zimbabwe
Under-18 Women: PraiseGod Nyamulepa (100m, 200m) and Delight Maravanyika (100m, 200m).
Under-20 Women: Shalom Sendi (100m, 200m), Anesu Nyahuma (400m, 4x400m mixed relay), Tashinga Ngirazi (100m, 200m), Nataly Shoko (400m, 400mH, 4x400m mixed relay), Hayley Chingono (100m, 200m), and Martha Chipuriro (800m).
Under-18 Men: Malachi Mafunga (400m, 800m), Calvin Banga (400mH), Kebonyemosemane Ndebele (800m), Tanatswa Nyamukondiwa (100m).
Under-20 men: Trey Chimunya (100m, 200m), Takudzwa Mbonyeke (100m, 200m), Nenyasha Chihora (400m, 4x400m mixed relay), Emmanuel Uriga (400m, 4x400m mixed relay), Alvin Simon (200m, 400m), Gift Khumalo (800m, 4x400m mixed relay), Tawananyasha Chakonda (110mH, long jump), and Panashe Mutenure (long jump).
