Ellina Mhlanga — Nationwide Athletics Affiliation of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara believes they nonetheless stand an opportunity of some extra marathon runners making the qualifying instances for the Paris 2024 Olympic Video games.
Thus far Isaac Mpofu has certified for the Video games because of happen from July 26 to August 11.
The qualification interval for the marathon closes on April 30.
The qualifying time for males is 2 hours 8 minutes 10 seconds. Girls are chasing a qualifying time of two hours 26 minutes 50 seconds. NAAZ are pinning their hopes on Moses Tarakinyu, Tendai Zimuto, Blessing Waison, and Ngonidzashe Ncube within the males’s class whereas South Africa-based Rutendo Nyahora and Lucky Chidzivo are the hopefuls within the ladies’s part. Tarakinyu and Zimuto are scheduled to compete on the Enschede Marathon within the Netherlands on April 21.
Ncube and Nyahora are going for the Vienna Metropolis Marathon, additionally to happen on April 21.
The pair of Waison and Chidzivo are anticipated to run at Durban Worldwide Marathon on April 28.
“I feel we’ve got a robust likelihood of qualifying Nyahora. Chidzivo is a darkish horse, she has been working 21km and her efficiency will not be unhealthy.
“For males, we’ve got Tendai Zimuto, Moses Tarakinyu, Blessing Waison, and Ngoni Ncube. Of the 4, one or two should qualify.
“Ngoni has the expertise. Tarakinyu is a darkish horse however he’s quick, similar as Waison, he’s a darkish horse however can run the qualifying time,” mentioned Tagara. Tarakinyu took half within the FNB Kazungula Bridge Marathon over the weekend.
He ran the half marathon as a part of his preparations for the upcoming marathon and got here first in 1 hour 3 minutes 41 seconds.
“In the event you take a look at Tarakinyu’s time at Kazungula, it is a powerful race however it’s a very good consequence. It is encouraging and he stands an opportunity to run inside the qualifying time,” mentioned Tagara.
Tarakinyu mentioned the weekend’s race offered him with a platform to evaluate his progress.
“It appears I’m heading in the right direction when it comes to my preparations for the marathon I wish to run. “In accordance with my time on the Kazungula half marathon, there’s something constructive, there’s a likelihood I can run 2 hours and 08 minutes if the course is quick.
“Successful the half marathon was not a shock to me as a result of I used to be totally ready for it. But it surely was simply to spice up my confidence for my marathon preparation. I simply needed to check the extent of my health since this race is a world race and lots of athletes from totally different international locations attend it.
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“Sadly, I used to be attempting to push myself to run beneath 1 hour and three minutes however I used to be working alone, I feel from 6km till I completed the race. I broke away from the pack I used to be working with as a result of they had been too gradual. So I began to push myself.
“Perhaps if there have been different quick runners, we might have pushed one another, and perhaps I might have achieved the focused time. However if you end up alone for a lot of the race it turns into tough. And the course was very powerful. Additionally, the temperatures weren’t beneficial,” mentioned Tarakinyu. Different Zimbabwean athletes who took half within the Kazungula occasion embody Ethel Pangiso, who received the ladies’s mara-thon in 2 hours 42 minutes 18 seconds.
“The race was a lot harder than the earlier years. There have been many foreigners, particularly Kenyans…In 42km there have been seven Kenyans, two South Africans, athletes from Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia, and I, so it was not straightforward to win the race however I managed.
“Even the climate was an added drawback, it was extremely popular. The course was very powerful,” mentioned Pangiso. Lizzie Chokore completed on place eight in 3 hours 11 minutes 26 seconds. Rudo Mhonderwa participated within the half marathon and got here third in 1 hour 20 minutes 2 seconds. Endurance Garauzive was fourth with a time of 1 hour 21 minutes 20 seconds whereas Ossly Murambidzi crossed the end line on place six in 1 hour 23 minutes 27 seconds.