Think beyond Kirsty, says ZOC

04 Oct, 2015 - 00:10 0 Views
Think beyond Kirsty, says ZOC

The Sunday Mail

Tinashe Kusema
THE Zimbabwe Olympic Committee has urged local sporting associations to employ a more research-based approach when identifying talent if the country is to reverse the ever-dwindling number of athletes it sends to the Olympic Games. Only two athletes – veteran swimmer and former world record-holder Kirsty Coventry and long-distance runner Wirimayi Juwawo – have so far qualified for next year’s Rio Games.

Coventry booked her ticket to the games last month when she finished 10th overall in the 100m backstroke at the Fina World Championships in Russia; while Juwawo did so by coming third at the recent Beijing Marathon in a time of 2:14:25.

“To date we are aware of only two athletes that have attained qualification standards, however, the ZOC will wait to receive the official communication from the internal federations,” said Anna Mguni, the ZOC secretary-general and chief executive.

“As of August 2015, the ZOC entered an estimated team size as part of the logistical preparations required by the organising committee of the Games.

“Based on updates and estimates from the national federations, the disciplines entered were athletics, aquatics (swimming), golf, rowing and shooting.

“ZOC is aware that the rugby seven’s team, the Cheetahs, will be taking part in a qualification event in November and if successful this will also be entered accordingly.

“That said, the current team size, including team officials, will probably range from 15 (without the team sport) to 50 if the cheetahs qualify.
“It could very well be less and cannot be summarily determined or finalised at this stage.”

Mguni urged local associations to look beyond Coventry.
The soon-to-retire swimmer has won seven Olympic medals for the nation: three at the 2004 Greece Games and four at the 2008 Beijing edition.

Her Olympic haul stands at two gold medals, four silver and a bronze.
“Zimbabwe, as it stands, has recorded considerable success in the region and at other international games but these accomplishments have largely been limited to one athlete, one discipline,” said Mguni.

“The contributions by Kirsty Coventry cannot be downplayed, she continues to serve her country outstandingly at every opportunity.
“However it is important to deliberately develop a ‘wider pool of Kirsty’s’ (excuse the pun) in the disciplines where we have the potential to be successful – therefore our approach as a nation needs to be research driven and strategically focused.

“ZOC continues to work with sport disciplines on a prioritised basis, giving more support to those disciplines and athletes with the greatest potential as was established through the research and recommendations that gave rise to its Long-Term Winning Strategy.

“In addition ZOC works with the Confederation of Southern African National Olympic Committees and the African Unions Sports Council Region 5 through the Podium Performance Programme. The Elite and Excellence Programmes were adopted to give support to those athletes identified as having the greatest potential for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 respectively,” she said.

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds