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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
ATHLETES will use the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) National Open Championships to measure their fitness levels to help them prepare for international events.

White City Stadium plays host to the championships on Saturday.

After holding only two national events last year due to Covid-19, National Cross-Country at the beginning of 2020 and the track competition in November where field events were barred, athletes were forced to do individual training, which affected their fitness levels.
Cuthbert Nyasango, Naaz’s Athletes Commission chairperson, said they are excited to return to the track.

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

“What pleases us is that even though there are limited slots for athletes, we understand the decision made by the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) as well as Naaz to limit participants, as it is for the safety of athletes,” said Nyasango.

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