Promising start for Zimbabwe at African Games

Petros Kausiyo in ACCRA, Ghana

CYCLIST Sky Davidson came close to securing the country’s first medal at the 2023 African Games when she finished fourth following a photo finish involving three riders here yesterday.

Davidson competed in the Elite Women’s race along with Stacey Hyslop. She overcame a brief stop to change her bike before working her way back to catch up with the leading pack.

However, Hyslop was not as fortunate after a nasty fall on a curve ruined her chances of catching up with the peloton. She ended up fighting for at least a decent finish.

In a dramatic end to the race, Davidson and her coach Elton Muchemwa actually thought she had claimed a podium finish following a strong ride in the final two laps.

The second, third and fourth places had to be determined through close video reviews which, at the time of going to print, had put South Africa, Mauritius, Nigeria and Zimbabwe in that order.

For Davidson, the race had an interesting twist through the presence of veteran rider Aurelie Halbwachs of Mauritius, who used to race with her mother and former Zimbabwe cycling gold medallist Linda Davidson.

“I am absolutely happy and incredibly relieved because there was chaos in the race,’’ Davidson said.

“It was raining when we started and there were so many crashes. I got involved in a crash in the first five kilometres, but I had to ride on.

“I managed to get back on, but my bike was not working properly. About 20 kilometres later, I stopped, changed the bike and Albert, the mechanic, was amazing.

“He got me a new bike, but it took me a lot of energy to get back into the groove again. Once on the new bike, I was feeling a lot better and I got more confident,’’ she said.

A field of 49 riders took to the road for the women’s race in the humid conditions of Accra, and Davidson was happy with the terrain.

Prior to yesterday’s competitions, Africa’s rich heritage and cultural diversity was on show on Friday night as the continent’s sportspersons converged on the University of Ghana Stadium in Accra for the official opening of the 2023 African Games.

Team Zimbabwe joined their counterparts from other nations and had women’s cricket captain Marry-Anne Musonda and top-ranked swimmer Denilson Cyprianos as the country’s flag-bearers at a glittering ceremony presided over by Ghana’s President Nana Kuffour Addo.

Deputy Minister of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Emily Jesaya; chairperson of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Chamu Chiwanza; director of Sport and Recreation in the ministry Eugenia Chidhakwa; Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) chairperson Gerald Mlotshwa; and SRC board member Colleen De Jongh were among the dignitaries who watched Team Zimbabwe do their march past.

The Zimbabwean contingent, clad in national fabric and the famous green blazer, marched into the main arena just before hosts Ghana and got a standing ovation.

After a night of glamour at the opening ceremony, it was time for business at the competition venues yesterday, with several disciplines getting into
action.

Musonda and her Lady Chevrons set the tone for Team Zimbabwe’s campaign for honours when they punched their semi-final ticket after winning their opening Group B games against Rwanda and Uganda.

They will return to action today for their final group assignment.

Linda Shaba, taking part in her second African Games, won her two chess matches against opponents from Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, while Zhemba Jemusse lost to his Egyptian opponent.

The pair was featuring in the mixed doubles games, which went on into the night.

Shaba made her debut at the 12h edition of the Games in Rabat, Morocco, in 2019.

Swimming captain Paige Van Der Weisthuizen made it into the 100m freestyle final last night after clocking 58,88s and coming third in her heat.