Confusion mars Hope Fountain 22km race

Sport
CONFUSION marred the Hope Fountain 30km Race as there were no police details to control traffic in Bulawayo yesterday morning.

CONFUSION marred the Hope Fountain 30km Race as there were no police details to control traffic in Bulawayo yesterday morning.

SUKOLUHLE MTHETHWA SPORTS REPORTER

The competition started at Centenary Park and ended at Hillside Dams. There was an athletics official who was in a car that was leading athletes making hand signals to motorists so that they could be aware that there was an ongoing competition.

However, some of the motorists ignored the official probably not aware of what was happening.

In the end, the official was given a reflective jacket to draw the motorists’ attention so that they could be aware that there were athletes competing, but this was not good enough as they still failed to control traffic.

There was confusion at the end of the race as the cadet who was supposed to give directions to the athletes seemed not to be sure of where the race was ending.

He first directed Elford Moyo, who was competing in the wheelchair category, to the right before he signalled to the other direction where there was the finishing point.

In the end, Moyo had to stop a few minutes just to confirm if he was on the right track and there was nothing to show where the finishing line was.

However, away from the controversy, Moyo from Lobels romped home first in one hour 28mins to win the race. “The race was fair and The water points were fantastic,” he said.

“However, there was confusion at the end because someone would say go that direction and the other would point you in another direction.

“There was no drawn finishing line. The police should control traffic. The police need to be there because some motorists are very rude.

“I won this race because I have been training very hard. You should feel the pain when training. When the competition comes you will then be comfortable.”

Moyo outpaced Samson Muroyiwa from Zvishavane who crossed the line in one hour 29min 11 secs while Munyaradzi Katiyo finished the competition in one hour 47mins 43secs.

Moyo walked away with $100 while Muroyiwa and Katiyo received $75 and $50 respectively in the 22km race.

Independent athlete Thandiwe Ndlovu won the wheelchair women’s category in two hours 16mins 53secs. Ndlovu pocketed $100.

ZRP Fairbridge scooped the first prize of $125 when they got home in one hour 39mins 21secs in the senior men’s relay team while ZRP won the same accolade in the women’s section crossing the line in 2 hours 8mins 18secs.

Sparrows won the junior relay race in the juniors romping home first in 1 hour 41mins 55secs.