Chikondi Mwanyali and Nalicy Chirwa emerged as champions in the men and women category respectively of the first ever Mzuzu city half marathon which took place at the Mzuzu stadium.
Mwanyali from Civo athletics club finished the 21 km race in 1:08.04 he was followed by veteran long distance runner Chancy Master from Kamuzu Barracks athletics club who finished in 1:08.10 and Macdonald Maganizo from Kamuzu baracks athletics club finished on third position after running 1:08.26. For finishing first Mwanyali walked away with a whooping K1,000,000 while Master got K700,000 and Maganizo went home with K500,000.
Mzuzu based athlete, Chirwa from Forever athletics club dominated the women category as she finished the race in 1:23.44 she was followed by Asimenye simwaka from Malawi Defence Force who finished in 1:25.49 and veteran runner Doris Fisha from Mulanje athletics club finished third position after running 1:25.56. Chirwa went home with K1,000,000, while Simwaka got K700,000 and Fisha pocketed K500,000.
Speaking after the event, 20-year-old Mwanyali explained that he was delighted with his performance considering that he was competing with well renowned long-distance runners.
‘’ It feels good to win especially when you compete with veteran long distance runners such as Chancy Master. Am still learning and I just have to push myself a bit hard there is no time to relax. Explained Mwanyali.
In the female category Chirwa had sweet revenge as she won the 21km race after defeating Asimenye Simwaka who beat her a week ago in the national cross-country that took place at the Mzuzu golf club
‘’I came into this competition with a lot of confidence that I will win, because I know that Asimenye is not good at long distance, so it feels good to win, it was my target to win this half marathon and I think am the best long-distance runner in the country’’. Explained Chirwa
91 athletes (70 male and 21 female) registered for the inaugural 21 km Mzuzu city half marathon race and the Minister of Youth and Sports Honorable Uchizi Mkandawire MP together with Malawi National Council of Sports (MNCS) Chairperson Dr. Sunduzwayo Madise attended the event.
Making his remarks the Minister of Youth and Sports said events such as the Mzuzu city half marathon will help our athletes to improve their performances.
‘’We must recommend the job that the sports council is doing in order to develop and promote sports in the country, events such as these will help to identify and nature talent and I assure you that as government we will continue to support the Mzuzu city half marathon.’’ explained Mkandawire.
In his remarks MNCS board chairperson Sunduzwayo madise explained that as council they are delighted that finally the Mzuzu city half marathon has taken place
‘’ We must first recommend the main organizing committee for making sure that the Mzuzu city half marathon takes places, as MNCS we will continue supporting this marathon because it is in line with our mandate of promoting and developing sports in Malawi.’’ Explained Madise
The main organizing committee chairperson Mr. peter Mumba thanked Council for the financial and technical support they provided for the marathon to be a success.
The Mzuzu city half marathon was sponsored by MNCS in partnership with MedHealth Malawi, Mzuzu City Council, Moyale barracks, Rab processors and Itel Malawi. Other activities that took place on the day included Aerobics and fun run.
