Zimpapers Logo

Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
PROMISING female long-distance runner Faith Nyathi from Plumtree has been handed a perfect opportunity to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games after being awarded an athletics scholarship to the United States of America.

The 21-year-old Nyathi, who specialises in the 5 000m and 10 000m, arrived in the United States yesterday to take up her scholarship at El Paso Community College before heading to the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Nyathi did her A-Level at Nketa High School in Bulawayo and was a member of City Meats Athletics Club sponsored by Bongani Ndlovu, the proprietor of City Meats Butchery.

South African-based former runner Costa Takawira helped secure the scholarship for Nyathi with the assistance of another ex-long distance runner Philemon Hanneck, who is based in the United States.

Hanneck represented Zimbabwe in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics before acquiring United States citizenship in 1999.

Securing a scholarship for Nyathi is part of Takawira’s objective of empowering mostly young female athletes with potential to excel academically and in sport through his Costa Takawira Mangwende Foundation, which he set up in 2015.

“We educate the girl child and empower the nation by focusing 80 percent on girls and 20 percent on boys. I am assisted by Hanneck, a former Olympian now based in America. He makes sure they have accommodation, food and clothing the moment they land in the US,” Takawira said.

He is certain that Nyathi will not disappoint in the United States, but develop into w“I know Faith is going to do us proud. There is a former athlete based in Bulawayo I told I was looking for an athlete and he identified Faith, so I am sure she will do well,” he said.

Another scholarship beneficiary, Kelvin Chiku, from Marondera is already in the United States.

Chiku will start reading for an associate degree before enrolling at the University of Louisiana Monroe.

Bradley Makuvire, who also benefited from a similar scholarship in 2019, completed his studies at El Paso and is now at University of Louisiana Monroe.

Takawira said four more scholarship beneficiaries will be leaving at the end of the year.
Three female athletes are going to the United States, while one boy is heading to Germany. – @Mdawini_29