Stage set for NAAZ Junior Championships

THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) is set to host the national Junior Championships on Saturday at the National Sports Stadium which will help to prepare athletes for upcoming international events.

Athletes are paying entry fees of US$2 per event per athlete and US$4 per relay team for the NAAZ Gift Chigwere Junior Championships.

Participants in the track events will compete in 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 3000m, 5000m, 4x100m and 4x400m races.

Field events include high jump, long jump, triple jump, shotput, javelin and discus.

Earlier this year, NAAZ hosted its first leg which was mainly focusing on preparing athletes for the 13th African Games which were hosted by Ghana.

NAAZ president Tendai Tagara said the second leg will act as qualifying platform for the upcoming 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships.

“This second leg focuses on juniors across the country, and we expect a big turn out from juniors who ran in Victoria Falls as some want to prove point.

“Remember, there are athletes who are really doing well but did not get the opportunity to be at Victoria Falls hence this will be their opportunity to showcase what they offer,” Tagara said.

“The fact that this will be also the major selection meeting for World Junior Championships makes the association believe that many juniors will strive to be there. We invite all juniors from all corners of Zimbabwe to be part of this event.”

The 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships will be held in Lima, Peru, from August 27 to 31. Panashe Nhenga and David Nyamufarira are the only athletes that have met the qualifying standards for this event.