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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter

ATHLETES are back on the track this weekend when the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) plays host to the National Junior Championships at White City Stadium on Sunday.

The meet provides athletes with another chance to clock qualifying times for the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in August.

The World Under-20 Championships will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from August 17-22, one week after the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Under the competition’s rules, athletes aged 16, 17, 18 or 19 years on December 31, 2021, will be eligible to compete.

Naaz has already indicated that it wants at least five athletes to qualify by early May for the competition in Kenya.

Host province, Bulawayo Athletics Board chairperson Watson Madanyika said: “We are ready to host the event. Everything is now in place. Athletes from clubs and other provinces have confirmed their participation. We are looking forward to a good competition.

“This Sunday’s competition will be used as a platform to identify and select representatives for the global meet to be held in Nairobi, Kenya.”

He further reiterated that the event will be held under strict Covid-19 prevention protocols.

“We will use one entrance along Hyde Park road when entering the venue. All athletes and supporting staff will be recorded upon entry. No spectators will be allowed during the competition,” he said.

Events to be contested include the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1 500m and 5 000m races.

For field events, participants will take part in the long jump, triple jump and discus. There will be no relays. – @innocentskizoe