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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter

LONG-DISTANCE runner Munyaradzi Jari has shared his pain after losing his child at a time he was in the final phase of his preparations for his last race in South Africa.

Jari, who is chasing qualification to the Olympics, lost his seven-month-old baby last month.

It has not been a smooth path for him. He had to shuttle between Zimbabwe and Kenya, where he was based for his training between December and March, to attend to his child who was sick.

“On the 27th of December I had to come back from Kenya. My child was in hospital, so from then the training I had been doing was disturbed.

“I then went to Italy, I can say the weather was bad but I think my fitness was affected because I came back home from Kenya three times between January and March.

“We did what was recommended and he was better. I left for South Africa on April 22 and my child was okay then. But around May 17, 18 he got critical and passed away.

“So I had to come back and I was here for about four to five days for the funeral before I went back for the race. I competed but the distance I ran was longer than the official distance.

“It was really tough especially for me…at the end I faced a lot of challenges,” said Jari.

Jari says he may have missed qualification to the Olympics but there is still something positive to look up to with the World Championships scheduled for next year in the United States.

“I believe I have more opportunities now of competing in most elite races because of the time I ran in South Africa. I want to qualify for the World Championships early than to try to qualify when we are getting closer to the competition,” said Jari.