From ELIAS CHIPEPO In Brazzaville –
AFRICAN women 400m champion Kabange Mupopo is among seven runners coach Douglas Kalembo says will be sent to Europe to take part in various competitions to prepare them for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Others are 100m and 200m runners Sydney Siame, Brian Kasinda, Yvonne Nalishuwa, Lumeka Katundu and Rhoda Njobvu, and 400m runner Saviour Kombe.
Kalembo said in an interview that the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) was planning to send the athletes to compete in the European circuit so that they could get the needed exposure by competing in various competitions.
He said Zambia had young promising runners who needed to be groomed well for future competitions.
Kalembo expressed happiness with the performance of the runners at the All-Africa Games (AAG) despite winning only one medal in form of gold through Mupopo, who won the 400m final.
“I am glad to be part of this group that is doing an amazing job to ensure that athletics is put on the world map. These runners are young and they need to be exposed to various competitions for them to gain experience and I feel taking them to Europe will be ideal for them,” he said.
Kalembo urged former runners based in the United States of America (USA) to return home and see how best they could assist in the development of the sport in Zambia.
“We have sent a statement here at the Games that Zambia is on the rise and I feel they can do even better at upcoming competitions but only when exposed to various trainings,” he said.
Kalembo urged Mupopo to continue working hard and ensure she dropped into the 40 seconds mark.
He was, however, happy that she managed to set a new national record after timing 50.22 seconds to beat her old personal best that stood at 50.86 seconds.
“Nothing is impossible and I am sure she will do it. She is one of the world great athletes and with hard work she can go below the 40 seconds mark,” he said.
Savour Kombe managed to reach the men’s 400m final with Kasinda reaching the 100m final while Siame competed in the 200m final as well as the 4x100m relay final.
Meanwhile, the 11th edition of the AAG came to close on Saturday night with a colourful ceremony at the new Kintele Stadium and the baton was passed to the next hosts Angola in 2019.
The event saw Brazilian football legend Pele, who won the World Cup in the famous yellow and blue jersey in 1958, 1962 and 1970, present his number 10 jersey to Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso.