BUSE athletes sizzle

THE recently launched Bindura University of Science Education’s National Sports Academy is already making waves on the international sporting arena with some of its stars now rubbing shoulders with the cream of Africa’s athletes.

Athlete Nyasha Mutsetse left a mark at the just-ended Mauritius Africa Senior Championships where he scooped a bronze medal in the 800-metre race after clocking a time of 1:49,09s.

His sterling performance earned him a ticket for the Nigeria Africa Senior Championships this week.

Five of the academy’s top achievers - Norman Mukwada (400m hurdles), Leon Tafirenyika (400m), Dickson Kapandura (200m), Ngoni Chadyiwa (400m) and Nyandoro Blessing (100m) - participated in the World Junior competitions in Algeria where they also left a mark in terms of their performances.

Mukwada (400m hurdles) and Kapandura (200m) reached the semi-finals in their respective races with excellent times.

Mukwada ran a time of 51,65 seconds, coming second to the Jamaican Malic James-King, who clocked 51,54 seconds.

This was also Mukwada’s personal best (PB) time.

Team Zimbabwe also had a formidable 4x400m relay team comprising four of the academy’s athletes. They performed well and settled for 10th position. They also broke their national record by clocking 3:09,68s.

The championships were beamed live on SuperSport.

Donovan Mutariswa did well in the 100m race, coming second in a time of 10,65s.

Three other top athletes from the National Sports Academy participated in the competitions. Privilege Chikara finished fifth in the 1 500m race. He qualified for the Youth Olympics Games to be held in October in Argentina.

Simbarashe Maketa won the 200m race with a time of 20,99s, while Takudzwa Tambama who took part in the 800m race came eighth but failed to progress to the finals.

Maryjoy Mudyiravanji, Nyasha Mutsetse, Mukwada and Leon Tafirenyika also qualified for the Nigeria Africa Senior Championships.