ATHLETICS Tanzania Secretary General, Wilhelm Gidabuday has refuted claims that ace runner, Alphonce Simbu has snubbed the national athletics team for 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Gidabuday said the reports are unfounded and targets to destabilise the national athletics team which is set to start preparations for the quadrennial event set to start next April in Gold Coast, Australia.
In recent past, reports have been circulating that Simbu, who happens to be among 15 potential runners, expected to participate in the Commonwealth Games may not exactly participate in the Australian events, choosing instead, to run in the London Marathon to be staged around the same time with the Commonwealth Games.
“Simbu is a patriot and has confirmed that he will be taking part in the Games... therefore all other rumours regarding his decision to ditch Australia for the better paying London Marathon are baseless and target to tarnish the image of the national team and country as well,” said Gidabuday.
He also expressed surprise that such reports should be running amok, at the time when even the preparatory camp for the Commonwealth Games has not even started. Simbu continued to rise as Tanzania’s top marathoner with a creditable fifth-place finish in men’s race at the 2017 London Marathon, last April.
Simbu, winner of the 2017 Mumbai Marathon and fifthplaced at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, produced his best 42km race ever as he posted a new personal best time of 2:9:10 hours.
The country’s brightest prospect in long-distance race, who hails from Singida Region but currently residing in Arusha, lived up to his dream and personal target; which was to improve his personal best.
He ran nine seconds faster in his debut London Marathon race to beat his previous best time of 2:09:19, set March last year, in Otsu, Japan. Simbu started the race ranked 13th as per the London Marathon elite men runners’ personal bests, but once again defied the odds with a superb late charge, which saw him gate-crash into top five.
In January, this year, Simbu sealed Mumbai Marathon win at a time of 2:9:32, beating Kenyan Joshua Kipkorir by 32 seconds. He took home a 42,000 US Dollars cash prize (about 90m/- ). The Mumbai feat came five months after Simbu’s heroics at the 2016 Rio Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August 2016.
He narrowly missed out on a medal, finishing fifth in the men’s marathon at a time of 2:11:15, a difference of 2:31 minutes from the gold winner and 1:10 minutes behind the bronze medalist. It was the nation’s best finish in marathon at the Games.
Simbu improved his time from 2:11:15 in Rio to 2:09:33 at Mumbai Marathon, which enabled him to equal the fastestsecond winning time in the history of the race. At the virgin Money London marathon Simbu finished four minutes behind winner Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya, who recorded the greatest victory of his career as he fended off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele.
Basing on his recent charge of form, Simbu is a key member of the national team and carries the hopes of Tanzanians to win medal(s) at the coming Club Games.
Efforts to get him to clarify on the matter yesterday failed. Gidabuday also added that speculations that the National Athletics Coach Francis John has snubbed the preparatory camp were also not true because the athletic coach has no problems in this regard.
AT said four coaches will be shaping up the national athletics team, which will represent the country at the Commonwealth Games. Gidabuday named the quartet as Andrea John, Zakarie Barie, Kasim Salehe and the only lady trainer Lwiza John. Gidabuday said that the final selection of the athletes to represent the country at the Games will take place next February.
So far ten athletes have been chosen to take part in the forthcoming Games and they include; Ezekiel Jafary, Said Juma, Makula Stephani, Huche Gwandu, Agostini Sulle and Alphonce Simbu for the men, while the female squad is to be represented by Sara Ramadhani and Magdalen Chrispin
. Other sportsmen include Emanuel Giniki and Gabriel Gerald for the 5000 meters’ race and Failuna Abdi for the 10000 meters.
There are also reserved athletes who are yet to pass the set criteria and these are Anthony Mwanga for triple jump; Joseph Panga for the 10000 meters, Ally Ghulam for 100 meters and 200 meters, Francis Damas and Jackline Sakilu for 5000 meters.
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