Africa-Press – Tanzania. AMERICAN athletic coach, Ron Davis has said that Tanzania lacks enough short distance and track event athletes, who could earn the country medals in various international assignments including Olympic Games.
Davis, who mostly had a bonding coaching experience with the then middle-distance runner, Olympic silver medalist and 1500m record holder, Filbert Bayi said that the country won accolades in the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s because it produced enough competent track event runners.
“Tanzania had competent runners who participated in track and middle distance events like 100m, 800m, 1500 and 10,000m and they performed well to win medals for the country but most of the current runners mostly focus on marathon events,” Davis said.
Davis always have had close link with Tanzania. He once hosted ‘Team Tanzania’ preparing for Pre-Olympic Games in Atalanta, America for the 1984 event.
“Bayi managed to win a silver medal in 1500 in 1980 Olympics and in 1973 he became the first African runner to put 1-Mile record at All Africa Games and add up his name among only eight other runners globally, who reached that accomplishment to put Tanzania in world map of athletics,”
“We had also others runners like Suleiman Nyambui, Juma Ikangaa, who won the 1989 New York Marathon in a course fantastic record time of 2:08:01 and Gidamis Shahanga, who participated in both 10,000m and marathon for him to put his personal best time of 2:08:32 at the Berlin Marathon in 1990,”said Davis with an experience of 25 years of athletics in Africa.
He said that many countries, like Uganda and Kenya have invested in track events the reason why they farewell in the international events.
Davis, the African-American arrived in the country in 1979 to become the national athletic coach, training several local athletic legends including Bayi, who won fame in his era to win second Olympic Games silver medal in steeplechase after Nyambui in 1980.
Currently, training young runners at Filbert Bayi Secondary School in Mkuza, Kibaha Coast region, Davis suggests that the focus should be on young runners. He said young runners should be prepared intensively for the country to produce competitors in the likes of Bayi, Nyambui, Ikangaa and Mwinga Mwanjala, a middle-distance runner who holds the record of becoming first woman to represent the country the 1980 summer Olympics in 800 metres.
“I congratulate Bayi for his decision to nurture young talents at his school by providing them with educational scholarships,” said Davis He mentioned among others, Filbert Bayi School’s Gaudensia Paul, who has won a scholarship to study in America following her triumph in 800m and 1500m, respectively.
