Africa-Press – Eswatini. Eswatini’s fastest sprinters Bongiwe Mahlalela and Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa have cruised to the finals of the African Games.
The 13th edition of the continental multi-sport showpiece is staged in Accra, Ghana. The Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) runners are in the finals of the 200m in their respective categories, after punching above their weight yesterday evening. The finals are expected later today.
Mahlalela was the first to revive the hopes of a medal as per government’s call when they departed. She clocked 23.95 seconds to secure the third position in her race, which was dominated by southern African countries.Congo’s Natacha Ngoye conquered the race, clocking 23.25 seconds, and South Africa’s Shirley Nekhubui secured the second spot with 23.85 seconds.
Hunger
Building up to this feat, the tracks queen showed some hunger for a medal yesterday morning. She did so by setting a new personal best of 23.74 seconds in the 200m heats, exceeding her previous personal best of 24.09 seconds.
On the other hand, ‘Swazi Bolt’ also bolted into the finals of the men’s competition. It took him 21.04 seconds to book a slot in the finals. Ahead of him were Kenya’s Waweru Samuel and Nigeria’s Olunle Akintola.
Meanwhile, the fastest man in the country, cruised to the semi-finals in the morning yesterday. ‘Swazi Bolt’ left his competitors trailing to finish first, clocking 20.80 seconds and qualifying for the semi-finals. Matsenjwa made history in 2021 when he snatched a three-year sponsorship deal from Adidas. The duo is representing the country in the African Games. Most of the other sporting codes returned home. These sporting codes are karate, swimming, and taekwondo, with taekwondo set to take centre stage today.
Eswatini’s athletes have set new personal bests (PBs) at the ongoing African Games in Ghana. Bongiwe Mahlalela clocked a new time record of 23.74 seconds in the 200 metres (m) heats, surpassing her previous PB of 24.09. Her performance also saw her outpacing Botswana’s Sebeke Tsaona.
Tsaona was the runner-up in the 100m finals on Monday. Mahlalela was not the only liSwati to achieve a PB in Accra. Swimming sensation Simanga Dlamini improved his 100m breaststroke time, clocking in at 1:13.35 hours, bettering it by a second. He also set a new PB in the 50m breaststroke with a time of 32.44 seconds, down from his previous best.
On another note, Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa excelled in the 200m heats. ‘Swazi Bolt’ left his competitors trailing to finish first, clocking 20.80 seconds and qualifying for the semi-finals. He was closely followed by Nigerian sprinter Ekanem Emmanuel, who crossed the finish line in 20.94 seconds. Notably, this was Matsenjwa’s first race in the 13th edition of the continental multi-sporting code showpiece.
The duo qualified for the finals, which were yet to take place at the time of finalising the report. Athletes took to the track for medals yesterday at around 8pm local time. Today, the taekwondo poomsae competition is set to begin. Eswatini’s seasoned artists Sizwe Mabuza and Nkosinathi Mthembu will represent the country in the martial art.
Other teams in taekwondo, karate, and swimming have already been eliminated.The team of 13 athletes has been challenged by the government to surpass their 2019 performance and bring home medals. Heats results.
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