adminSikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (Zoc) and Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) have congratulated Kenneth Raynor and Christie-Rose Prestorias for booking places at the Youth Olympic Games set for Argentina later this year.
Raynor banked gold in the men’s 2 000m single sculls event on Saturday at the ongoing African Youth Games in Algeria, while Prestorias was a gold medal winner in judo in Hong Kong last week and on Sunday in China.
“We congratulate Prestorias for conquering the world through her excellent exploits that also sees her being ranked fifth in the world,” said the SRC.
This year’s Youth Olympic Games will be held from October 6-18 in Buenos Aires and Raynor’s gold medal performance in Algeria automatically saw him booking a ticket to Argentina and hopes will be high that he will exhibit a similar performance as his Algeria exploits.
The SRC said the duo’s victories and ultimate qualification was proof that the country was a force to reckon with on the sporting front, further adding that with proper planning and support, the country could scale dizzy heights.
“This is a demonstration that Zimbabwe is a force to reckon with on the African continent and this also goes to show that with greater support we can scale to higher levels as a nation. Kenneth’s achievement should be used as a barometer to gauge Zimbabwe’s performance at the World Youth Olympics set for Argentina later on in the year.
“His performance has to serve as an indicator of how the technical preparations have to unfold as we prepare for the Youth Olympic Games,” said SRC spokesperson Tirivashe Nheweyembwa.
He said it was pleasing to note that the long-term winning strategy employed by Zoc was beginning to bear fruits. “As the SRC, we are also thrilled that the Long Term Winning Strategy, which has been deployed by the Zoc is beginning to bear fruit and we hope that the current trajectory will be sustained going into the Youth Olympics and Tokyo 2020.
“It is our clarion call to all and sundry to support all sporting programmes that are being undertaken as they are meant to make our beautiful nation the envy to all,” he said.
A single scull is a rowing boat designed for a single person who propels it with two oars, one in each hand.
It is one of the classes recognised by the International Rowing Federation and the Olympics, who set the minimum weight of the hull at 14kgs, while the average length is around 8.2m.
Online Reporter