NAAZ pleased with triangular series

WITH several major competitions lined up for the year, most athletes took advantage of the Baldmin Holdings Triangular Series first leg held at the National Sports Stadium B Arena over the weekend to assess their ongoing preparations.

The series attracted some of the country’s leading senior and junior athletes, competing in various track and field events.

Most of the Under-20 athletes that represented the country at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Under-20 Championships last year, participated in the competition and some of them were among the winners in several races.

David Nyamufarira won the 100m and 200m events in the senior men.

Nyamufarira was the first to cross the finish line in 100m, in 10.53 seconds. He went on to win gold in 200m in 21.18 seconds, ahead of Panashe Nhenga, who came second in 21.69 seconds.

“This was my season opener. It was okay, I wasn’t expecting to win this because I was racing with the seniors, so it was a huge achievement for me. The level of competition was a bit tense but I managed to do my best. It was very competitive.

“I want to qualify for the World Athletics Junior Championships in Peru this year in August, so that’s my goal for both 100m and 200m,” said Nyamufarira.

Elizabeth Msipa had a good day in the senior women as she emerged tops in 100m and 200m. She came first in 100m, in 13.50 seconds, and won the 200m in 25.13 seconds.

“I think I am making progress and it’s better now because for the first (competition) there were not many seniors but today there were many seniors. So there was more competition and it was more encouraging for me to run,” said Msipa.

Seasoned long-distance runners including Ethel Pangiso, Patience Garauzive, Moses Tarakinyu, and Wellington Varevi also graced the event.

Pangiso came first in 5000m, in the senior women category in 17 minutes 39.03 seconds while Tarakinyu won the men’s section in 14 minutes 27.23seconds.

Naomi Musindo also had a good day when coming tops in shot put and discus in the senior women ahead of Kimberly Kachambwa, who has also been on the rise and represented the country at the CAA Under-18 Championships last year.

National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara said they were using the meet to prepare athletes for competitions such as the African Games and also as part of selection for the relay team.

NAAZ are hoping to field a team at the World Relays due to take place in the Bahamas, in May.

“I am happy with the competition, quite several athletes have posted good times here. Remember we are using their times as part of the preparation for African Games and selection for the World Relays.

“If we look at the men’s sprints, that is 100m, 200m, and 400m, they had quite a number of heats, which is a good indication that the turn-up was good, especially for the sprint events.

“We also had good competition for the 5000m, generally all the events the turn up was encouraging, especially in the track events,” said Tagara.