Marathon runners Harry Sichali and Tereza Master on Saturday broke last year’s records with emphatic wins in their respective categories in the Sunbird Ku Chawe Mountain Road Race at Zomba Gymkhana Club.
Sichali run 1:07:46 in the men’s active category whereas Master registered the time of 1:20:56 in the women’s category. This means that the two athletes have broken the records set in last year’s competition. During that event, Steward Banda clocked 1:10 in men’s category whereas Doris Fisher run 1:25 in women.
This year’s event saw 200 athletes take up the challenge to run the 21 km Zomba Mountain road race. Eliah Kanyenda came second on 1:08:25 followed by new kid on the block Moses Nyirenda who run 1:08:34. Nalise Chirwa and Cecilia Mhango came second and third respectively in the women’s category. They were rewarded with various prizes.
Master said she will take the pace to 2016 Olympics in Brazil in August. “I am greatly humbled with my success. It is a dream come true to win big competitions such as these. I will step up the gear in order to do better at the Olympics,” she said.
Speaking during prize presentation, deputy director of sports in the Ministry of Sports and Culture, Justice Msopera expressed gratitude to Sunbird Hotels and Tourism for sponsoring the competition.
“This gesture is contributing to the success of athletes in the country. It is my request to the various sports associations to partner with the corporate world. Sunbird has set the pace and we are very grateful for that,” said Msopera.
In her remarks, Sunbird group sales manager Titania Katenga-Kaunda pledged to make the competition an annual event.
“The race helps established athletes to grow confident in their abilities. We strongly believe that such sponsorship is one way of giving back to the unwavering customer loyalty,” she said.
