The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
Imani Makongoro
22 July 2011
Dar es Salaam — The National Stadium track will literally be on fire today when the National Athletics Championships begin this morning. The anticipated highly competitive event will serve to as a platform for local athletes to attain qualifying standards for the All Africa Games set for Maputo in September.
The tournament will bring together all the country’s elite runners after Athletics Tanzania (AT) secretary general Suleiman Nyambui announced that this was the only form of selecting a strong national team to Maputo.
The East and Central African 10,000 metre champion, Marko Joseph, will lead a field of other top runners in search of positions in the team to the continental event.
“I’m drawing inspiration from the past tournaments and hopefully I will attain the best time, and earn a place in the national team,” Joseph said. The provisional squad comprising 45 athletes was shaping up in Arusha under the tutelage of a Cuban trainer, Endrow Baro.
According to Nyambui, only 22 best performers would be considered to represent the country in the two-week event getting underway on September 3.
AllAfrica – All the Time
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Battle for Maputo Tickets Begins