Nine-member athletics team for Mauritius

Sport
A strong nine-member Zimbabwe athletics team will leave the country tomorrow ahead of the African Junior Championships to be held in Mauritius.

A strong nine-member Zimbabwe athletics team will leave the country tomorrow ahead of the African Junior Championships to be held in Mauritius.

REPORT BY KENNETH NYANGANI

The event which had been initially set for June in South Africa this year before being postponed, will now be held from August 29 to September 1.

The country will be represented by six boys and three girls, with the nation pinning its hopes on the likes of Sean Banda who will take part in the 100m and 200m and Shingirai Zhongoyo, 100m and 200m, in the boys and girls categories respectively.

In an interview with Standardsport, National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) president Tendai Tagara said that they are on a rebuilding exercise, but hope that the team will reach the semi-finals of the tournament.

“The team will leave the country on Monday. We have three girls and six boys. All the athletes are currently participating at the National Youth Games in Bulawayo. This has been an opportunity for them to fine tune their preparations,’’ he said.

Tagara added that the idea was not about winning medals in Mauritius.

“We are not worried about winning medals at the championships, but the thing is to have these youngsters participating at the highest levels so we rebuild our national athletics teams. As I speak, the country does not have athletes for the 400m category,’’.

Tagara added that the championships will assist the leadership in preparing for the World Junior Championships to be held in China.

“We would want to have a successful rebuilding exercise that will see us sending a bigger delegation to the Youth Olympics that will be held in China next year and the World Junior Championships to be held in the United States with the aim of reaching the semifinals and the final,’’ he added.