Vusumuzi Dube
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
UNITED States of America based Zimbabwean female athlete, Faith Nyathi continues to shine after she won the half marathon at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 Half Marathon National Championships held in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday.
Nyathi, from Ndolwane in Matabeleland South’s Bulilima district runs for El Paso Community College where she is on athletics scholarship. She finished the race in a time of 1:18:39.93 ahead of Elka Billings who took silver in 1:24:05.77.
It was the second conquest for the 21-year-old Nyathi in a matter of days after she finished first in NJCAA National Championships held in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday. Nyathi finished the 5km race in a time of 17:08, which was 35 seconds in front of the field in gaining the Women’s National Championship. She also garnered All-American honors as well as being named the Division 1, West Region Athlete of the Year.
Nyathi, who has been in USA since August is a beneficiary of the Costa Takawira Mangwende Foundation scholarship programme initiated in 2015 by former sportsperson, Costa Takawira who is working in partnership with another USA based ex-athlete, Philemon Hanneck to secure scholarships for Zimbabwean athletes to the US where they get access to better facilities and advanced coaching. Kevin Chiku and Bradley Makuvire are the other scholarship recipients, with the two also in the USA.
More athletes are heading to the US at the end of this year when Hanneck comes to Zimbabwe to fetch them. Takawira is certain that the three athletes already in the US have what it takes to represent Zimbabwe at the Olympics as well as World Athletics Championships in future.
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