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Lovemore Dube, Sports Hub Coordinator
RETIRED Zimbabwean middle distance runner Julia Sakala who excelled in the 800m and 1 500m races on the track is the country’s most successful athlete on the international scene with 15 medals.
The then powerfully built athlete from Mashonaland West Province was able to amass nine gold medals, three silver and as many bronze in her career. The collated results are from authoritative athletespodium.com which started recording international athletics successes in the early 1980s. This is from events such as the Southern Region Athletics Championships up to the Worlds and Olympics. So when all results of Zimbabwe’s athletes are brought together Sakala is the most successful.
Her haul has nine gold medals from Southern Region Africa Championships, one silver and bronze. She has a bronze medal from the Commonwealth Games won in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. In the All-Africa Games she was able to claim a silver medal and two from the African Championships, one silver and bronze to decorate her impressive cabinet which excludes school and national titles.
Apart from the two track middle distances Sakala also ran the 10 000m and her 39 minutes 03 seconds rates among the best-ever run by a Zimbabwean woman. Another event she partook in was the 3 000m with relative successes as in 1988 she won gold in the Southern Region Championships and repeated feat in 1990.
Gailey Dube a sprinter of repute is in second spot with a total of 11 medals won from the regional championships and the All-Africa Games in the following events 100, 200 and 4x100m.
She was a dominant force in the sprints from the late 1980s to 2000. She won seven gold in the regional games and her highest achievement competition strength wise being the 1995 All-African Games.
Former Hwange and Zimbabwe sprinter Elijah Nkala is the best performer among men sitting on third position overall. He was powerful in the 200m and excellent in the 400m race and came in handy for club and country in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.
Nkala won six gold and four silver medals.
The Umzingwane 7 July 1964 born athlete excelled in the Southern Region Championships. Tied on 10 medals with Nkala is Chrispen Mutakanyi who was brilliant in the 800m for Gaths Mine who won silver in the African Championships and bronze in the All-Africa Games, six gold in the Southern Region Championships where he bagged two silver.
He was handy in the 4x400m relays at times for both club and country. In terms of medal numbers, Stan Flowers is second to Sakala with a haul of 13 made up of six gold, one silver and six bronze. He specialised in the pole vault, long jump, javelin, 110h, discus and decathlon and was at the top of his game from 1987 to 1995.
Other athletes in the top 10 with their medals include: Fabian Mutyaba (six), Winnet Dube (six), Phillip Mukomana (nine), Partson Muderedzi (nine) and Marcelle Riddle (6).
Online Reporter