Time trials haunt Malawi
Malawi has yet again failed to meet basic requirements as just four out of the 60 athletes that participated in the time trials in Lilongwe last weekend earned automatic qualification for the African Games in Ghana in March.
Athletics Malawi (AM) revived time trials at the Bingu National Stadium with financial support from the Malawi National Council of Sports to ensure that only the best athletes are selected for international events unlike before when they were picked to participate on solidarity.
Prominent female short-distance runner Asimenye Simwaka topped the list after meeting qualifying standards in 100 metres (m), 200m and 400m.
She was followed by Stern Lifa men’s national champion and record holder, in 100mand 200m. He qualified for both races.
Middle-distance female runner Nalicy Chirwa also qualified in 10 000m while male athlete Madalitso Chizimba did it in the 400m hurdles.
So far, Malawi has participated in eight editions of the Games, winning five medals, a silver and four bronze.
However, Malawi is among five of the 50 medal-winning nations yet to claim gold at the games alongside Benin, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau and Togo.
AM president Kondwani Chamwala yesterday said the latest developments are not surprising.
He said: “We are happy to have done the time trials, which are a positive step towards shaping our athletes to succeed and be recognised at international level.
“The results are not surprising because the athletics standards in the country have been down for so long. We believe we will improve our performance if we continue doing this.”
During the time trials, Simwaka completed 100m in 11.31 seconds, beating the qualifying standard by 39 milliseconds. In 200m, the Malawi Defence Force (MDF) athlete crossed the finishing line in 23.27 seconds against the standard time of 24 seconds.
She ran 400m in 52.82 seconds, at least two seconds better than the standard time.
Lifa completed 100m race in 10.12 seconds against standard time of 10.2 and ran a 200m distance in 21.07 seconds, at least four milliseconds better than the required time.
In the women’s 10 000m, Chirwa run 34:22:06, beating the qualifying time by almost a minute while Chizimba run the men’s 400m hurdles in 57:67 seconds, two seconds better than the standard time.
Meanwhile, the qualified athletes expressed joy for securing automatic qualification for the continental showpiece.
Said Lifa, who participated at the 2019 Morocco Games: “I am very happy as it was my dream to participate again in the African Games. For me, it means my training is bearing fruits.”
At least 10 athletes have been called to improve performance within the next three weeks before they can be considered for the Games.
The following are the athletes: Chikondi Mwanyali and Forstna Mbemba (5 000m), Amanda Kondowe (200m), Farook Mponda (200m), Dalitso Gunde (400m),
Prince Mphepo (1500m), Grevazio Mpani (10 000m), George Gunde (110m hurdles), Aiche Mtambalika (Shotput) and Donald Malanga (Javelin).
Meanwhile, the Sports Council has said preparations for the 2024 Africa Games are on course.
In an interview yesterday, the council’s spokesperson Edgar Ntulumbwa said Malawi will be represented by eight disciplines at the event.
He said camping is scheduled to start on February 21 before departure on March 5.
Malawi Olympic Committee (MOC) secretary general John Kaputa said they will be sending technical officers to monitor how serious and committed athletes are.
