MKHALIPHI STUNS ‘SWAZI BOLT’ IN 200M

MANZINI – The men’s 200-metre heats had spectators eat from the palms of the hands of athletes, as top sprinters faced off at Mavuso Sports Centre yesterday.

Royal Eswatini Police Services (REPS) sprinter Mcebo Mkhaliphi showed a remarkable performance. He outclassed top athletes Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa and Thandaza Zwane by over a second in the 200m event. This transpired in the second Athletics Eswatini (AE) Senior Championships. Mkhaliphi also shone in the 100m event after taking second position behind Eswatini’s fastest man, Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa who was running his last local race. The runners ensured a photo finish, with only one millisecond making the difference. In addition, Zwane completed the list of podium finish winners.

He clocked 20.82 seconds, while Matsenjwa who came in third position raced 21.11 seconds behind teammate Mlandvo Maziya with 21.04 seconds. In this race, Zwane secured fourth position after clocking 21.26 seconds. Notable during the heats of the last event, Zwane outpaced Matsenjwa. Meanwhile, in the 100m race, Matsenjwa clocked in at 10.41 seconds, while Mkhaliphi crossed the finish line at 10.42 seconds. Furthermore, Zwane reached the winning point after10.56 seconds. Commenting after also triumphing in the 200m heats, Mkhaliphi said he was impressed with his overall performance. “The feeling is good. I had prepared well, so the race was easy. However, the competition was high as I was racing against two best local athletes,” he said.

Meanwhile, Matsenjwa congratulated Mkhaliphi for his performance. “My body did not recover well from the first race. I can only accept defeat from him. He is the next ‘Swazi Bolt as this is my last year racing,” he said. Zwane blamed his decline in performance on fatigue. “I can still feel my body is tired from last week’s race in Greece. I underestimated my opponents, especially Mkhaliphi,” he said. Nevertheless, in the women’s 200m and 100m heats, the ever-green Bongiwe Mahlalela was challenged by Manzini Athletics Club (MAC) sprinter Precious Mlilo.  The latter was second best. “Yes, I did not secure any personal best (pb). I was just trying to push myself as I hardly had competition. If athletes can continue to train, they can also be known as part of the best locally,” Mahlalela said. Athletes with the best times in each category are set to qualify for the African Senior Championships in Cameroon next month. Meanwhile, juniors would qualify for the World Championships.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: