The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO-BASED sprinter, Nigel Tom is looking forward to his first race of the year at the National Sports Stadium today as he gears up to represent the country at the African Senior Championships to be held in Nigeria in August.
Tom competes in 200 metres and 400m, with the latter being his main event. The 27-year old also represented the country at the same competition in Durban, South Africa in 2016 where he competed in 400m and made it to the semifinals.
With the amount of preparations that he has put in, he is confident of qualifying to represent the Zimbabwe in Nigeria and other competitions around the region this year.
“Last year I ran under 46 seconds, that was my best time so I am hoping to push it down to 45 seconds. I am confident because I have Body Works Gym sponsoring me with my strength training part and other basic stuff I need for my training. I have been training at Body Works Gym since last year and that has helped me a lot,’’ Tom said.
He is travelling to Harare with another sprinter, Faith Dube, who also runs 200m and 400m. The 27-year old Dube was part of the Zimbabwean team for the Southern African Championships held in Harare last year and is also looking at representing the country in Nigeria. Dube is too getting assistance from Body Works Gym with regards their power and strength training.
Body Works Gym manager Donavan Ashborne said they were pleased to send the two athletes to Harare as they look to grow as a sporting academy.
“We are happy to send the two to Harare as our first two athletes who have come out of our athletics academy, as everyone is well aware that we well known for being a bodybuilding powerhouse. We have now opened our doors to other sports and we are aiming to be powerhouses in all sports,’’ said Ashborne.
Athletes from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Bulawayo are also heading to Harare for the track and field national event for clubs.
Meanwhile, Dumoluhle Mkhwananzi has become the first athlete to qualify for the Coca-Cola ZITF Four Minute Mile Challenge after he qualified on 14 January at White City.
