Three weeks ago, Phibion Gwatidzo of Baker Tilly Gwatidzo visited the giant National Sports Stadium to watch his child Mukudzei participate at the National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) athletics competition.
Report by Brian Nkiwane
But soon, the auditor’s attention would shift from his child to two athletes who had performed beyond expectations.
The two athletes, Sithulisiwe Zhou from Mberengwa and Trymore Kanzara from Mutoko, were simply in their own world. Gwatidzo was touched that Zhou and Kanzara were running barefooted unlike their counterparts who were well-kitted.
It did not take him long to declare that he would immediately take care of the duo’s needs for their careers to blossom.
A dream had come true for Zhou, whose athletics career has been full of ups and downs.
Born 20 years ago in Mberengwa, Zhou had an early birthday present on Friday, a day before she turned 20, as she was one of the beneficiaries of a sponsorship package that Gwatidzo unveiled.
Like any other rural girl, Zhou has been facing a number of challenges in her athletics career, but she has been patient.
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Zhou, after being identified in the deepest end of Mberengwa some years ago, made an impact within six months of breaking into the international arena, as she went on to represent Zimbabwe in Morocco.
Zhou had problems with her height, birth documents and funds to shape up her career at a tender age.
“I grew up in the rural areas, where parents do not really understand the importance of birth documents. I failed to take part in many athletic events because I had no birth certificate. I will never forget one incident where I had to go to Botswana without a passport and I won two medals. The other thing which almost ruined my career is that in rural schools participants used to be considered by height. I’m short,” she said.
After completing her primary school at Chingechuru in Mberengwa in 2007, she enrolled at Maringembizi Secondary School in the same area where she revived her athletics career.
In 2009, the marathoner performed well and reached national level where she was selected to represent the country in Botswana.
“I managed to win my two first gold medals in the 3 000m and the 1 500m races. In 2011 I outpaced all my opponents at school level and was selected to go to Mozambique for the Zone Six Games, where I won silver as well as coming fourth in the 1 500 metres race.”
In the same year Zhou scooped two more gold medals in the same races in Namibia, as well as the World Cross Country Championships that were held in South Africa where she came 16th.
She was again part of the Zone Six team that went to Zambia where she won two gold medals in her favourite two races.
This year Zhou has already participated in the Lesotho 8km race where she came fourth and the Singapore Youth Championships where she came fifth in the 3 000m race and in Morocco where she came sixth in the same race.
Sithulisiwe was born in a family of five children three boys and two girls.
