The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships started in Moscow, Russia yesterday and it is a shame our country is being represented there by a mere two athletes.
Report by Simba Rushwaya
Sprinter Gabriel Mvumvure and marathon runner Cephas Pasipamire were the only ones who qualified, for the biggest athletics event together with the injured duo of Cuthbert Nyasango and Wirimai Juwawo.
A simple calculation will show that out of the thousands of athletes in Zimbabwe, only four have the capacity to make it to the highest level and that should be a cause for concern in a country where there is an estimated 13 million people.
While Zimbabwe was sending just two athletes, neighbouring Botswana, with a population estimated at 3 million people, sent 11 athletes with southern Africa giants South Africa shipping 27 athletes to the same event.
It shows there is something wrong somewhere within the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz), a body tasked to oversee athletics in the country. The problem needs to be addressed.
The current administration led by Tendai Tagara inherited an organisation that had been run down by predecessor Joseph Mungwari who had clung to power for far too long. It is permissible to give the Tagara administration the benefit of doubt, but at the same time, we should not treat it with kid gloves.
It is high time Tagara and his lieutenants got out of their “nappies” and jump-start the sport that has been decaying for the past decade through sustained bickering that scared away sponsors.
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The first step towards resuscitating athletics must be the ability by the authorities tasked with running the sport to come up with a comprehensive blueprint that would take the once popular sports out of the abyss.
Because athletics are relatively cheap sports that do not need expensive individual equipment, the blueprint should not delve much on finances, but broad clarification on how Naaz wishes to bring athletics out of the quagmire and elucidate on development, particularly how Naaz will make sure talent is harnessed from primary school age to tertiary level.
In the past there has been a smooth chain of talent identification up to the crucial tertiary education level that simply cascaded into the national system. That should come alive again. The national governing athletics body must ensure they station qualified coaches at all levels working closely with the National Association of Primary Heads (Naph) and the National Association of Secondary Heads (Nash).
The culture of academies seems to have died a natural death. I vividly remember the last vibrant one being the Millennium Athletics Academy that was run by Robert Mutsauki. That academy had powerful sponsorship with its own full-time offices at the National Sports Stadium. Academies will go a long way in tapping talent especially in the rural areas where talent goes unnoticed.
I can go on and on, but the onus is on Naaz to get organised and convince sponsors once again that their money would not go down the drain.
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