Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
ONE of the coaches leading the Zimbabwe athletics team in a month-long training camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa, Lisimati Phakamile, believes they have taken the right direction in preparation for 2020.
The camp is being funded by the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee.
The team in South Africa is made up of Dickson Kamungeremu, Tatenda Tsumba, Itayi Vambe, Ngoni Makusha, Norman Mukwada and Dickson Kapandura.
The team opted for the High Performance Centre for better facilities and also to get expertise in other areas such as the scientific approach to their training sessions.
“The programme that we are going under right now in Pretoria is a huge programme where we are looking at a lot of aspects of running.
“We are basically looking at the athletes going under physiotherapy, the scientific training methods where we are having biomechanical analysis of their running techniques and their movements.
“We are also having a qualified expert helping us on the techniques and the tactics that we can use to improve the athletes performance.
“So, our programmes include a lot of physiotherapy, medical support, video analysis, team building, technical support and again trying to improve the performance of our athletes.
“So, this programme is quite big. It is actually a very good eye-opening session for both coaches and the athletes that we have here.
“We have done a lot of work and there is a lot of progress with the athletes as we speak,” Phakamile said.
Although the main target is qualification to the 2020 Olympic Games, the initiative is expected to have wide-ranging benefits with the Africa Senior Championships taking place in June, in Algeria, as well as other regional competitions.
Phakamile, who is also the NAAZ director for coaching, talent identification and development, said they have to remain focused and correct the mistakes made in 2019.