LOCKDOWN EFFECTS VISIBLE IN AE CHAMPS

MANZINI – Athletics Eswatini (AE) President Zakhele Dlamini has conceded that there is no way they could have escaped the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said the standard of competition during the senior national championships on Saturday at Mavuso Sports Centre was not what they would have expected. He said the effects of the lockdown were visible as the standard dropped a little with no records broken on the day. “The athletes really did well in the national champions despite the challenges with the year 2020. They gave out their best but the standard was never going to be the same after the lockdown. Now they will have to go back and work hard to improve the standard,” he said.

Focus

Dlamini said now they will turn their focus to road running as this was the last track and field event in the year calendar year 2020. He said the elite athletes have to continue as the 2021 Olympics Games qualifiers will get underway in December. “The technical committee will be meeting this week as we turn the focus to road running. Time trials are an option but all that will be discussed during the meeting. We want athletes to compete in a safe environment that will not prove threat especially under the COVID-19 environment,” he said.

Dlamini said he was happy that all went well, during the national championships and they did their best to keep everyone safe. The champions were awarded with their medal by the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga who was full of praise for the AE for the well organised event. Other guests include Eswatini Football Association (EFA) President Bomber Mthethwa, EOCGA CEO Sydney Simelane, Msebe Malinga and Sifiso Mkoko from the Ministry of Commerce among others.

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