Mauritius to host African Athletics Championship
Confederation of African Athletics has announced that this year’s African Championships will be held in Mauritius from June 8-12.
Forty-two out of Africa’s 54 countries have confirmed their participation at the event to be held at the National Sports Complex of Côte d’Or, according to a statement from CAA and the organising committee.
The statement reads: “The organising committee is still waiting to know if the remaining countries will show up in June. They have until May to confirm their participation.”
Initially, the continental competition was supposed to be held in Algeria last year but it was postponed due to Covid-19.
Malawian athletes Asimenye Simwaka and Sten Lifa qualified for the postponed Algeria Africa Championship and are earmarked for the Mauritius event.
But Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM) general secretary Frank Chitembeya said in an interview yesterday that they are yet to confirm Malawi’s participation.
He said: “We would love the two athletes to participate at the competition. But we need to secure funding for the trip first.”
Simwaka also competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in track and field events, breaking the national record in the preliminary heats of women’s 100 metres.
Despite becoming the national record holder in the 100 metres (m), 200m and 400m at the same time and improved on her national record, running 11.68 seconds, she did not qualify for the semi-finals.
Simwaka said in an interview yesterday that she is looking forward to the competitions, which she wants to use to improve her personal record ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Forty-five events, including men’s hurdles, decathlon, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, hammer and javelin; and for women, hurdles, heptathlon, high jump, pole vault, long jump, triple jump, shot put, discus, hammer and javelin are earmarked for the event.
Since its inaugural edition in 1979 African Athletics Championship was at first organised intermittently with nine editions held in fourteen years until 1993.
Following the 10th edition in 1996 it has been organised biennially on even years, and is always held in the same year as the Summer Olympics.
The 21st edition was held in Asaba, Nigeria in August 2018.
