Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WITH the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games qualification window now open, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee is ramping up support to get more athletes to the Games.
ZOC president Thabani Gonye says athletics, particularly sprints and relays, are central to the plan.
Gonye feels some of the performances they have witnessed in sport codes such as athletics, one of their priority disciplines, are an indication of a positive trajectory.
The ZOC boss is upbeat about Zimbabweans’ chances following the opening of the qualification window.
“I am happy and excited with the opening of the window because already, in our strategy, which we basically spoke about after Paris, we said that we saw opportunities in the athletics side, on the sprinters side, taking in from 100 metres up to 400 metres.
“And part of that strategy, when you talk of sprinters, you are speaking of the relay projects, both for the 4x100m and the 4x400m.
“And we have already started some work, which you would have seen us supporting our relay team that took part in Lesotho, in Botswana, which is also going to compete internationally at the World Championships.
“We believe that was one of the processes that we were doing behind the scenes, based on our strategy,” said Gonye.
The men’s 4x400m relay have had a good showing this year, reaching the World Athletics Relays final in Gaborone, Botswana, and qualifying for next year’s World Championships in Beijing, China.
“We are certainly looking to secure as many numbers that are eligible and where available for the 100, 200, 400 metres, because we have a lot of opportunities in that space.
“I believe this, LA2028 will provide us probably the biggest numbers individually for events that we have had in the history of Zimbabwe . . . and then when we go to 2032, we are looking to sustain and grow the numbers beyond that,” Gonye said. Nine athletes drawn from athletics, triathlon, tennis, and swimming are currently beneficiaries of individual Olympic Solidarity Scholarships as part of the preparation for the LA28 Games.
The scholarships provide critical support for training, competition, and athlete development during the Olympic qualification cycle.
Apart from those nine, ZOC are working with national associations to identify and support additional athletes with Olympic qualification potential, and among the priority sports for qualification tracking include athletics, swimming, rowing, tennis, triathlon, and golf.
The door remains open to all sport codes.
On the other hand, the Zimbabwe sevens team will receive a team support grant funding of $25 000 per year through to the LA28 Games. The grant provides financial assistance for National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to support team sports with established Olympic presence and competitive development needs.
Rugby sevens Zimbabwe are the beneficiary of the grant, which will provide sustained financial support for team preparation, training camps, competition entry, and squad development over the full quadrennial cycle.
“We have an opportunity that we spoke about, the team that we are supporting on the team’s grant, which is the rugby sevens.
“But we also know that cricket is coming in as a new sport discipline for LA2028. We believe we have opportunities there.
“So, we look to every window and every association and every athlete, that is an opportunity to qualify.
“The opening of the window says in Zimbabwe, we are open to have every athlete that is dreaming to go to LA, to go through the formal processes, engage with ZOC, if they believe they need to actually be given platforms to qualify,” added Gonye.
ZOC have added veteran marathon runner Isacc Mpofu and tennis ace Courtney Lock onto the list of athletes they will be financially assisting in their quest for LA28.
Mpofu had a commendable show at the last Olympics in Paris, while Lock will be looking to make his bow at the global sports showpiece.
ZOC revealed that the inclusion of the duo builds directly upon ZOC’s Olympic Solidarity Scholarship framework, which continues to sustain the core cohort of nine elite competitors.
The programme already supports sprinters Vimbayi Maisvorewa, Tapiwanashe Makarawu, and Makanakaishe Charamba, hurdler Ashley Miller Kamangirira, marathon runner Tendai Zimuto, tennis veteran Benjamin Lock, triathlete Andy Kuipers, and swimmers Anje Van As and Paige Van Westhuizen.
“Augmenting this pre-existing roster, another funding initiative injects additional resources into the qualification campaigns of marquee marathon runner Isaac Mpofu and elite tennis talent Courtney Lock.
“Mpofu, who is a national record holder, enters the cycle aiming for an Olympic return following his competitive appearance at the Paris 2024 Games.
“Concurrently, Courtney Lock targets his maiden Olympic qualification after a heartbreakingly narrow miss alongside brother Benjamin Lock, for Paris.
“The committee’s comprehensive funding model helps take care of costs of elite preparation, ensuring access to top-tier training facilities, specialised coaching staff, localised training camps, medical and sports-scientific support, and international competition logistics,’’ ZOC wrote on their website.
“In tandem with backing these single-athlete disciplines, ZOC have heightened its focus on team sports to expand the nation’s competitive footprint.
“The national rugby sevens team has been integrated into the committee’s high-priority developmental framework as they ramp up preparations for their upcoming Olympic qualification fixtures’’.
Zimbabwe last had a team sport qualifying for the Olympics at the Rio 2016 Games in Brazil, when the women’s football team, the Mighty Warriors, punched their tickets to the showcase.
The only other time that Zimbabwe had a team sport featured at the Games was in 1980, when the women’s hockey team won gold in Moscow, Russia.
