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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ATHLETES are geared up for the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz)’s first event of the year, the National Open Championships to be held at White City Stadium in Bulawayo tomorrow.

In line with Covid-19 standard operating procedures, each province is only allowed to field two athletes per event.

For track events, competitors will battle it out in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 1 500m, 5 000m and 10 000m, while field events on offer are long jump and javelin.

Women’s track star Faith Dube, who represented Zimbabwe in the 2019 African Games in Morocco, competing in the 200m and 400m, said she spent 2020 reconditioning and training alone to stay fit.

“When I came back from Morocco I had an injury so I spent the better part of 2020 reconditioning. I thought the lockdown was going to be lifted early but that wasn’t the case. To be honest it was difficult to train alone because when you do that, you can’t measure your standards since there will be no races,” said Dube.

“On Saturday, I’ll be running to check my fitness and not for time because I’ve been out for long. The times I’ll run tomorrow will give me a guide on how to improve and I hope that I’ll be able to participate in more races this year,” she said.

Athletes from outside Bulawayo were expected to start arriving in Bulawayo yesterday morning.

Victoria Falls-based 23-year-old sprinter Raymond Ngari’s target is to qualify for the Senior National Championship.

“I didn’t do well in last November’s race because of rust, but I feel I’m better shaped now to try and qualify for the Senior National Championships. I know with a good time I’ll enhance my chances of going to Algeria for the Senior Championships later this year,” said Ngari, who competes in the 100m and 200m events.

Brendon Marowa (18) of Harare said: “I’m ready for the weekend race in Bulawayo and I can’t wait to show what I’ve been training for. I’ll be running the 10 000m and I’m looking forward to recording a good time.”

Cuthbert Nyasango, Naaz’s Athletes Commission chairperson, said they are excited with the return of activities.

“It (return of competitions) means a lot as we are focusing on world events this year. This (Naaz Open Championships) event will help coaches check the level of fitness of athletes and make adjustment needed to qualify for international competitions,” said Nyasango.

“There are limited slots for athletes and we understand the decision made by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) as well as Naaz to limit participants, ” he said.

The celebrated Olympian said athletes managed to navigate challenges that included failure to access training facilities, having one-on-one coaching sessions and lack of income due to cancellation of events because of the Covid-19 lockdown. – @ZililoR