Alfred Chawonza through to IAAF semis

ZIMBABWE’S Alfred Chawonza pulled through to the boys 800m semi-finals of the ongoing IAAF World Under-18 championships when he put up a spirited fight in his heat at Kasarani Stadium here yesterday.

Chawonza finished sixth in 1.53.74 minutes and although he was outside the top three in his heat, his time was good enough to see him through to the next round.

He qualified as one of the next fastest athletes behind the top three from the heats.

Ethiopia’s Melese Nberet won the heat in 1:52:53.

Chawonza, who was in lane seven, had a good start as he set the pace in the first lap but had the gap closed in the last 400m and finally dropped back.

The semi-finals are on today and he is optimistic of a good show.

“It means a lot really. To be honest I came wanting to go into the final and running that preliminary I felt like I fell asleep so now I know my mistake, what I did wrong in the preliminary.

‘’So I am here to correct that mistake in the semi-final and hopefully make it into the finals.

“And going into the semi-finals I am going to be watchful and just try not to fall asleep again at the 600m mark and then keep going because I really want to go into the final,” said Chawonza.

Eduardas Rimas Survilas from Lithuania was second in 1:53.01 followed by Rok Markelj from Slovenia in 1:53:23.

Today he will be joined by Vimbai Maisvoreva and Arage Mutombo, who will battle it out in the girls 800m first round.

Maisvoreva is likely to face tough competition in heat two as most of the athletes she is up against have better times compared to hers.

But the 17-year-old is not fazed by that.

“I am not thinking much about that and I am looking at getting into the finals. I am not afraid going into this competition because I think I had enough preparations to be ready for this event.

“I am also looking at beating my own time and maybe I can get a scholarship in the future. I think anything is possible,” said Maisvoreva.

The Form Four pupil at Dope Secondary School said it’s been a long journey.

‘’What I can say is sport can change your life, you get to travel a lot and meet people from different countries in the world. So I am ready for this,” Maisvoreva said.

Maisvoreva made the cut for both the 800m and 400m but opted for 800m as she felt she had better chances of advancing to the next round.

Her teammate Mutombo is also excited about the competition.