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Ellina Mhlanga in Ndola, ZAMBIA

ZIMBABWE picked their third medal at the ongoing Confederation of African Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 championships yesterday when Takunda Mhete came third in triple jump at Levy Mwanawasa stadium.

Mhete, competing in the Under-20 (juniors) men triple jump, made a 15.20m leap to claim bronze, also posting his personal best in the process. 

His previous personal best was 14.88m.

Mhete said he knew what to expect going into the competition and was happy with his performance. 

“I am beyond words. I am really happy. It wasn’t only a bronze medal for the country but also a big win for me. 

“I have improved my personal best by about 32cm which is a huge amount, so I am really happy about that. 

“Well I knew they were going to be good. This is Africa, this is not Southern Africa, this is not school, this is not provincial type of stuff. This is Africa, so I really expected it.

“I probably expected someone to jump a 16 today but no one did. But I wasn’t really intimidated to be honest, I took it positively, it’s one thing me and my coach have been working on, taking things positively and it worked in my favour,” said Mhete. 

Head coach juniors Aaron Whyte commended Mhete for his effort. 

“I think Takunda did very well, he had some of the best jumpers in Africa. Coming into this competition with a personal best of 14.88m, not many people will give him a chance to get a medal because he was competing with guys who have 16s, 15s and above. 

“But he came here, he proved and he showed that he can do it and he did it and we are super excited. I think we are all relieved, we are all happy,” said Whyte.

Mhete’s performance was the major highlight of the day. Most of the sprinters made the 200m Under-18 and Under-20 semi-finals but the results were still to be released by late yesterday. In the Under-20 men 200m semi-final, the best performance was from Tayedza Jaravaza, who came third in heat three. 

In the Under-18 men high jump Samuel Dauti, also posted a personal best of 1.94m on the opening day of the competition although he missed the podium. 

“This means a lot. My last personal best was 1.91m and when I started the competition this time I even thought I wasn’t going to make it because at first I was dropping the lower heights and it was becoming a bit difficult. But the competition pushed me and then I managed to break my previous personal best.