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Sports Reporter

THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe are shifting their focus to the upcoming new season set to get off the blocks in January.

Following mixed fortunes in the 2022 season, the national association will be hoping to build on the successes and improve in the lacking areas.

The season is expected to take off on January 7 with a number of provincial cross country events as usual. The provincial competitions will be followed by the national championships in the same month.

However, there are several major competitions lined-up for next year starting with the World Cross Country Championships to be staged in Australia in February. This will be followed by the World Indoor Championships in March, in China and World Athletics Relays in May.

The 2023 World Athletics Championships will then take place in Budapest, Hungary, in August.

Zimbabwe had three athletes in the previous edition and are hoping to improve the number for next year. But they will have to up their game to meet their targets considering that qualifying standards continue to improve.

They will also be looking at competing at a number of regional and continental competitions that include the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Under-20 Championships, Africa Senior Championships and the African Games in Ghana.