Short-distance runner Asimenye Simwaka believes her chances of qualifying for the 2024
Paris Olympics are high as she competes in the 200-metre (m) race at the ongoing African Senior Athletics Championships in Cameroon.
The country’s sole representative at the continental championship in Douala has a record of 23.16 seconds in 200m distance, but she must cross the finish line in 22.80 seconds to make the Olympics grade.
If her dream comes true, Simwaka will be the country’s first qualified athlete for the Olympics since Malawi started participating in the games in 1972.
“I will engage an extra gear to win and break my record tomorrow [today] because that could be my last chance of qualifying for the Olympics this July,” she said.
“I am carrying the Malawi flag and I am determined not to disappoint. All I am asking from fellow Malawians is to keep me in prayers because with God everything is possible.”
Simwaka hopes she will not be disturbed by some factors such as delays in starting time as was the case in the 100m event she contested in on Saturday.
The Malawi Defence Force (MDF) athlete made it to the finals of the 100 metres on Saturday and finished sixth. She failed to meet the qualifying time for the Olympics after crossing the finish line in 11.49 seconds, 42 milliseconds behind the qualification time.
Prior to that, the 26-year-old broke her and Malawi’s record by 16 milliseconds in the semi-finals as she topped Heat Two of her race in 11.35 milliseconds, which was 28 milliseconds behind qualification time.
“I was heavily affected by the delays in the final of the 100m race. It was expected to start around 5:40pm, but it started around 8pm. By that time, I had lost a lot of energy and did not reserve enough forthe race,” she said.
“Of course, organisers apologised for the delays, but I was still disappointed because that affected my performance. I hope tomorrow [today] everything will be in order.”
Simwaka is the only Malawi representative in Cameroon after her male counterpart Stern Lifa pulled out of the trip after dates of the tournament clashed with the period of his interviews for the MDF officer cadet job.
