The Rio Olympics may be well over and the euphoria may be dying in the Cpacabana beach in Rio De Jeneiro but the reality back home must sink that Team Zimbabwe came back empty handed, without any sniff at the medals’ podium.
Our best Olympian, and most probably the best female swimmer of the past decade, Kirsty Coventry, carried the country’s hopes for a medal, just as she was the flag bearer for Team Zimbabwe on the opening ceremony of the just ended games.
However, the glitz and glamour, the swagger and the panache that was being exhibited by the smartly dressed Coventry, was not replicated when it mattered most, and that is in the swimming pool.
She did not have the best of times in Rio, due to the fact that age has finally caught up with her, and she was competing against swimmers 10 years younger. That alone was a big test for our Golden girl who, during her prime, dazzled the swimming events with her fine-tuned performances. Coventry finished a disappointing sixth in her final and favorite event, the 200m backstroke.
That we had shoddy preparations especially on the part of the Mighty Warriors who did not play any competitive friendlies until they landed in Rio, was a recipe for disaster and the inevitable happened as our history making girls emerged as the wiping girls of their group which had powerhouses like German, Canada and Australia.
The girls can be forgiven for such results, which resembled tennis score lines, as it was their first time and they were playing against the world’s best, but let it sink in that there are no prizes for being the best failure.
Not even one Zimbabwean athlete was good enough to stand on the medals’ podium. Disappointing.
In the marathon, It was mixed fortunes for Zimbabwe’s three marathon runners as Pardon Ndlovu finished 41st, Cuthbert Nyasango 58th and Wirimai Zhuwawo failed to complete the 42km race.
A promising start by Nyasango and Zhuwawo in the opening 10km of the race radiated some medaling hope but it was soon to die out as the distance increased and edged closer to the finish line. Along the way Zhuwawo was to fall by the wayside and in the end it was the underdog Ndlovu who made a surprise first place finish for team Zimbabwe at position 41 in a time of 2.17.48 hours before Nyasango came through at position 58 in 2.18.58 hours.
All hope is not lost as there is room for improvement in the near future.
The poor results mean team Zimbabwe returned home empty handed in terms of medals but it is everyone’s hope that they return with many positive lessons on how the Olympics are prepared for, executed and managed.
Next stop is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and it’s in four years’. The responsible authorities of different sporting disciplines must put their houses in order so that we, at least, get one medal. The road to Tokyo starts today.
Lawrence Winter / August 23, 2016
Thanks for the article Lovejoy. I must say, while it is disappointing that Zimbabwe did not manage a medal, this is not entirely a negative thing. You have to consider the funding gap, the facilities, sponsorship and access to world class coaches and training our athletes are not privileged to enjoy. Let alone the access and exposure to regular world class competitive environments. The fact that they even qualified is a mark of the astonishing resilience and ability Zimbabweans have to triumph through adverse conditions. Be not despondent, but be proud that we were even represented competitively on a global stage.
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