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Leonard Ncube in Victoria Falls
ZIMBABWE Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) athletes Jonathan Chinyoka and Patience Murove won the Econet Victoria Falls Marathon in the male and female categories respectively here yesterday.

Zimbabwean athletes dominated this year’s edition, which was returning after a two-year absence caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chinyoka, who recently switched from specialising in the half-marathon to the full marathon, hit the finishing line in 2 hours 18 minutes 10 seconds, beating runner-up Blessing Waison by 10 seconds in the men’s field.

Murove, who also recently switched to the full marathon and was competing in her first Victoria Falls marathon, finished in 2 hours 47 minutes 31 seconds to beat experienced road runner Olivia Chitate, who finished second in 2 hours 48 minutes 31 seconds.

Almost 3 500 runners drawn from over 30 countries participated in yesterday’s marathon.

Zimbabwe had eight runners among the men’s top 10 finishers, with South African Philani Sengce finishing sixth in 2 hours 21 minutes 53 seconds and Zambian Edward Mwale settling for 10th place after romping home in 2 hours 24 minutes 12 seconds preventing a clean sweep by local athletes.

Veteran Kelvin Pangiso finished third in the 42.2km race in 2:19:02, Prosper Mutwira was fourth in 2:19:38 and another veteran Mike Fokorani finished fifth in 2:20:55.

In the female’s 42.2km category, Rosina Kiboino of Kenya, who finished fourth in 2:50:11 and Tise Kalemba (3:31:43) of Zambia were the only foreigners that finished in the top 10, with the rest being Zimbabweans.
Ethel Sibanda (2:49:40) was third and Tryphina Picardo (2:53:00) was fifth.

The majority of top 10 finishers in both the half and full marathons were drawn from the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), ZPCS and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), as uniformed forces dominated the marathon.

Moses Takarinyu from ZNA defended the 21,1km half-marathon title he won in 2019 when he romped home in 1:03:30, beating the challenge of World Championships bound Isaac Mpofu, who finished second 13 seconds later.

All the top 10 finishers in the men’s half marathon were Zimbabweans.

In the female category, Caroline Mhandu was first in 1:18:50 followed by Bertha Sitariko (1:19:28).

Chinyoka (35) said the race was good preparation for the upcoming Comrades Marathon in South Africa.

“I switched to full marathon from 21,1km because of Covid-19 disturbances. I just returned from the 2022 Two Oceans Ultra Marathon where I was the only Zimbabwean who finished in the top 10 and now, I am preparing to go to the Comrades Marathon. I want to thank Econet as this is part of the preparations and also thank ZPCS for the support they are giving us,” he said.

Murove said: “I am just graduating to full marathon and my first was the Harare Marathon early this year, so I am happy to win the Victoria Falls Marathon in my first attempt. It was tough though, especially with Kenyans and Zambians closely following.”

Five-time winner Nkosiyazi Sibanda finished outside the top 10, while former Paralympic sprinter Elliot Mujaji was among participants in the 7,5km fun run.

He said he wanted to keep fit and motivate his athlete, Tinashe Mapfumo from Elite Athletics Academy which he runs. Mapfumo finished 22nd in the full marathon.

Tanzanian Steven Joachim also stole the show when he ran barefoot, clad in animal skin, saying as a cultural ambassador, he wanted to promote traditional culture.

Econet chief operating officer Kezito Makuni said they moved the finishing point from Farm School to Elephant Hills Golf Course to get a place that matched the event brand to project an international image.

“We were targeting more than 5 000 athletes and we got good numbers and still had people trying to register yesterday, but we had to turn them away because registration had closed. The Econet Victoria Falls Marathon has grown bigger over the years and will continue.

“We are a strong believer in wellness for our staff, so we use this event for wellness programmes. We believe a healthy nation is a prosperous nation, so we will continue to encourage more people into the fitness arena,” he said. — @ncubeleo