Zimbabwe: Zvinowanda, Shumba Excited At Paralympics
ZIMBABWE’S representatives at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games are excited to be part of the multi-sport show-piece.
The country is fielding two athletes, Vimbai Zvinowanda and Pamela Shumba, in athletics.
Shumba will compete in 100m T12, on September 1, and Zvinowanda is due to take part in T47 200m, on September 4.
“Everything is okay, even the training sessions are okay,” Zvinowanda told The Herald, from Tokyo.
“Everything is going well and I hope I am going to make it because we are training hard.
“I am excited to be here, we have been getting so much support from the chef de mission and the coach and it just motivates you.”
The athletes have not had much competition, since qualifying for the Games.
“It may be a challenge but I am confident because we have tried to compensate for that, through the training we have had.
“Compared to when we went to Dubai, for the qualifiers, we had very few days of training but, this time, we had more days.
“We are working more on blocks, just to improve the start,” said Zvinowanda.
The athletes qualified for the Games, during the World Para Athletics Grand Prix, this year, in Dubai.
“I will try my level best and I expect to compete well,” said Shumba.
“When I went to Dubai, my challenge was on the blocks so, since we came back after qualifying, we have been working on that.
“I am hoping to pull through the first round.
“I think we are good to go, Dubai was my first time competing at that level and it was a bit difficult but, now, I think I am used to it.”
Zimbabwe’s chef de mission, Ignatius Vambe, said the fact the two athletes qualified for the Games, has been a confidence-booster.
“I think they have equal chances, just like any other athlete, they are hard workers, self-motivated and we really don’t want to put pressure on them but we know what they are capable of.
“So, we just encourage them to do their best and we know they will give us something positive.
“The Dubai experience has greatly helped them, so it’s not something very new to them.
“In Dubai, we had 150 countries so the environment is almost the same even though here it’s a bit bigger.
By The Herald.
