Chikwakwa eyes 2014 Commonwealth Games
Middle distance runner Catherine Chikwakwa-Chunda has reportedly started preparations for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and she insists she will represent Malawi.
“Official announcement: I have made up my mind to run for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Just started my training. Watch out for trials girls,” she wrote on her Facebook wall.
When The Nation asked her which country she will represent at the Games, the Scotland-based athlete said: “My motherland, my home, my birthland and my country. I am not a British and I did not renounce my birthright.”
The 28-year-old last represented Malawi in 2008 at World Youth Games in Scotland, before she joined the British Army. Then, she was quoted by www.africanews.com as saying: “I will no longer represent Malawi in athletics as I have joined British military and I am getting citizenship.”
But the athlete’s change of heart to run for Malawi has excited the Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) who have described the development as good news.
AAM general secretary Frank Chitembeya said Chikwakwa-Chunda’s vast experience on the international stage will boost Malawi’s chances of winning medals at the forthcoming Commonwealth Games.
“However, we beg her to send us her performance time during the various competitions she has been participating recently in the foreign land so that we can officially consider her for the event,” he said.
Chikwakwa-Chunda, who got married to dentist Remus Chunda in 2005 and have two children, is probably the best female athlete to have carried the Malawi flag at international contests.
In 2004, she came second in 5 000 metres during the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy. She earned her personal best time of 15:36.22 minutes.
She finished seventh in 3 000 metres in the 2002 World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary before taking the 13th slot in 5 000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England the same year.
