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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter 

SPRINTER Ngoni Makusha is set to headline Team Zimbabwe as the Africa Senior Championships get underway today in Mauritius. 

The continental meet is running until Sunday with over 600 athletes expected to compete in track and field events. 

Zimbabwe is fielding athletes in 100m, 200m, 400m, 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay.  Makusha is competing in 100m, 200m and is part of the 4x100m relay team. 

The other members expected to make up the relay team are Tapiwa Makarawu, Garren Muwishi and Dickson Kamungeremu. 

They are also competing in individual events with Makarawu and Muwishi up for 200m and 400m respectively. Kamungeremu also qualified for the 100m event. 

As the competition begins, Makusha together with Kamungeremu and Panashe Nhenga are up for men’s 100m. Michelle Zuze is scheduled to compete in the women’s 100m event while the duo of Simon Artwell and Garren Muwishi are set to compete in the 400m race. 

Speaking from Mauritius, coach Lisimati Phakamile said the team has settled in well and a number of their athletes are competing in the 100m and 400m preliminaries this morning. 

“So in the morning session of the first day we are having six athletes going on to the track for Zimbabwe. That is three men for 100m and one lady, and two men for 400m. That is how our first day will be looking like in the morning session. 

“And then again the same team will continue in the afternoon save for the 400m sprinters who will only go back onto the track the following day.

“So basically that is our lineup for day one. We have the preliminaries for 100m and 400m in the morning session for Team Zimbabwe,” said Phakamile. 

The limelight will also be on United States-based high jumper Kudakwashe Chadenga during the five-day competition. Chadenga has been enjoying a phenomenal rise in the United States and the future looks bright for him. The African Championships is an opportunity for him to showcase his talent as he competes against some of the best athletes on the continent. 

“We are basically expecting quality results this time around. We took a team of new guys altogether save for Ngoni, who has tasted international competition and Dickson Kamungeremu. 

“But the rest of the team its their first time to get to such a stage of competition but we are very confident as a team that the guys will live up to the expectations and the standard. 

“The sprinters have been performing exceptionally well this past season, moving around the region for competitions and they have been posting quite impressive times. We are hoping that in such an environment and these conditions they will also perform very well and make us proud,” said Phakamile.

The continental meet also presents the athletes with an opportunity to try and qualify for the World Athletics Championships due to take place next month in the United States. 

United States-based sprinter Vimbayi Maisvorewa, who was expected to be part of the team could not make it. 

Team Zimbabwe 

Ngoni Makusha 100m, 200m, 4x100m.

Tapiwa Makarawu 200m, 4x100m

Panashe Nhenga 100m

Denzel Siamulela 200m

Kudakwashe Chadenga High jump

Garren Muwishi 400m, 4x100m 

Michelle Zuze 100m

Ashley Miller 100m Hurdles 

Simon Artwell 400m

Dickson Kamungeremu 100m, 4x100m