New queen of track, field is born

Sport
BY BRIAN NKIWANEGrowing up admiring the marvellous talents of American starlet, Marion Jones, who elevated basic running to an art form, Ursula Ndlovu has a dream to be a professional athlete. 

She also grew up seeing American runner Wilma Rudolph and Zimbabwean-born Julia Sakala excelling in their disciplines and this motivated her to follow their tracks.Ask any official from Bulawayo province that were part of the technical team in Gwanda during the Youth Games last month and they will tell you that Ndlovu was one of the influential athletes who helped Bulawayo to third position.

Standarsport caught up with the track and field events queen when she had visited her mother in Harare.  Clad in a designer gym skirt complemented by a Buddie sleeveless top, Ndlovu (17) sat on her mother’s double bed at their one-room cabin in Hatcliffe and curved a banana smile as she took time to admire the latest medals she won at the just ended National Youth Games held in Gwanda last month.

Ndlovu, a Form Four student at Msitheli High School helped the Bulawayo province to third position, seeing it  amass a total of 28 medals with the little girl chalking four medals: two gold and two silver.

Ndlovu, an all-rounder, specialises in short distance athletics, long jump with high jump being her favourite. During the just ended event, Ndlovu mined gold in the 400m track event before repeating the same feat in the 4xmake, winning gold again.

She went on to scoop two silver medals in the high jump and the long jump in the Under-20 category.  Asked about how all this started, the camera-shy athlete said she started taking part in sporting activities at the age of 15 when she was in Form Two at Mpopoma High School.

Ursula took us down memory lane on how she won some of her medals. “I got my first medal at the National Youth Games that were held in Marondera in 2009 when I won bronze in high jump. I did not give up as I did the same at the National Youth Games that were held in Harare in 2010 and again it was a bronze medal from high jump. I have already told you that’s my favourite of them all,” she said.

The young track and field events queen went on a medal gathering spree this year winning gold in the 400m, silver in the 100m races, gold in high jump, another gold in high jump in the Nash Games that were held in Harare before striking gold again in high jump at the second edition of the Nash Games that were held in Bindura.The four new medals have brought her medals tally to 14.

Ndlovu stays with her grandmother in Bulawayo’s Pelandaba suburb, together with her brother Edwin (11) who is more into soccer than athletics.Ursula has already told herself that she has to make a living through sports.

“I am looking forward to continuing with this fine form. I hope that after finishing school I will get sponsorship to other countries where I will have a chance to specialise in my sporting activities as well as my school work. I am also looking for a club that will assist me in nurturing my talent to become a complete athlete who can compete at the highest level,” the soft-spoken athlete said.