Zim athletes falter in Peru

Ellina Mhlanga

Senior Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S David Nyamufarira and Panashe Nhenga made an early exit in the men’s 100m event after finishing sixth and eighth respectively in their respective heats at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru yesterday.

The five-day meet got underway yesterday with several events lined up for the day.

Nyamufarira was the first Zimbabwean athlete on track in heat four and he finished on position six in 10.73 seconds, missing qualification to the semi-final.

The first two in each heat plus the eight fastest times qualified for the semi-final.

Nigeria’s Okon Israel Sunday won the heat in which Nyamufarira competed with the West African stopping the clock on 10.48 seconds.

He was followed by Merone Wijesinghe of Sri Lanka who clocked 10.55 seconds to seal the semi-final spots of the heat.

Nhenga also struggled when he took to the track, coming eighth in heat six in 10.95 seconds also falling well short of the time needed to advance to the semi-final.

Jamaican sprinter Deandre Daley of Jamaica with a time of 10.37seconds won the heat while China’s Keli Zeng was second in 10.51seconds.

They were joined by Sean Aigboboh of Ireland from this heat, who posted one of the fastest times across the eight heats when clocking 10.55 seconds.

Team Zimbabwe coach Briad Nhubu reckoned that his athletes had given it their best but had found the going tough.

“David finished sixth. I believe fatigue affected him. He tried but this is what came out of us,” said Nhubu.

Nyamufarira, also set to compete in 200m, was the last to join the team as he arrived in Lima on Monday night.

Besides the individual events, Nyamufarira and Nhenga will also be part of the 4x100m relay team at this competition.

Nhenga is competing at the World Under-20 Championships for the second time, having represented Zimbabwe in Cali, Colombia in 2022.

The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe are fielding four athletes at the meet.

The other two athletes are Caledon Ruwende who is scheduled to compete in the 200m event and Brendon Muvimi, who will be part of the relay team.

The men’s 200m race is scheduled for tomorrow.