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Lovemore Dube, [email protected]

ZIMBABWE’S most priced road runner Isaac Mpofu who has already qualified for the Paris Olympics, will today participate in the 2024 Boston Marathon in the United States of America.

The event is expected to give a rough idea of what to expect at the Olympics.

Judging from the past, this marathon attracts the best in the world and a strong or top 20 finish will leave Zimbabweans with hope for another good performance over the distance at the Olympics.

Last year Mpofu finished 19th in the event in which over 10 000 runners took to the starting point and 2024 may attract an even bigger field. Last year athletes were still apprehensive following a Covid-19 induced sports ban between 2020 and 2022.

At last year’s event, Mpofu finished in a time of 2 hours 14 minutes 08 seconds.

He must have been milling in the drawing board with good intent preparing for this event. The winner won it in 2 hours 05 minutes 54 seconds, a gap that may have been over 2,2km which is a lot.

A better time and place is expected from Mpofu who has not only grown on the road but is now a brand good enough to attract sponsorship.

He is sponsored by Adidas and back home a fortnight ago he was presented with US$10  000 sponsorship by Nedbank Zimbabwe who are becoming a powerhouse in athletics funding. 

Last week’s winners of the PPC Matopos 33-Miler Prosper Mutwira and Chiedza Chokore run for Nedbank Zimbabwe whose sister club in South Africa is the most celebrated and successful in the last decade of road races attracting athletes from all over the continent with several Zimbabweans enlisted. Mpofu won bronze at last month’s Ghana African Games after finishing third in a very strong field which had athletes from world leading marathon countries.

Meanwhile, Loveness Madziva was third in 3 hours 38 minutes in the Cape Town hosted Two Oceans Marathon on Saturday.

Her Zimbabwean compatriot Givemore Mudzinganyama who was the defending champion in the men’s category was third in 3 hours 11 minutes 13 seconds.