ng 12 on November 16, devastated the field and clocked 48.26sec for the girls Under-12 two lengths breaststroke in the Mashonaland Junior League gala at Harare’s Les Brown Pool.
This eclipsed Coventry’s November 1994 Zimbabwe junior record of 48.92sec and also shaved the record of the age group a year above the 48.28sec set by Nicola Bradshaw in 1999.
The records require official ratification, but that appears a formality as all three timekeepers in her lane were fully qualified.
“For the very first gala of the season this was a remarkable swim,” said Spartans coach Frank Parrington.
“I can’t recall a Prestige medallist ever competing in junior league and Sam is still eligible in the same Prestige 12-and-under age group next year.”
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NATIONAL handball club champions Big Elephants are now set to leave for Cotonou, Benin, on Thursday to take part in the 29th Confederation of African Handball Clubs Championships.
Big Elephants’ trip to the West African nation had been uncertain for the past two months as nine of the players did not have passports.
The Chitungwiza-based club heaved a sigh of relief last week when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the CAHB and asked if Zimbabwe could be allowed to field some players with Emergency Travelling Documents instead of passports.
“The Ministry of Foreign talked to the organisers of our predicament and we have been allowed to use the ETDs.
“We then approached the Ministry of Education, Sport and Culture and the Sports Commission who helped us to get the ETDs from the Registrar-General’s office.
“So we have now secured the travelling documents and should be leaving on Thursday,” said Big Elephants assistant coach Daniel Mutandwa yesterday.
The club is now leaving with 16 players for the tournament running from September 27 to October 6.
The Zimbabweans could have missed on participating at the club championship had the dates for the event not been shifted from September 19 to 24.
“It was a blessing that the event was postponed because we could have missed out.
“Now everything is set and we have been training the whole day at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex to make up for the lost time.
“Everyone is now focused on the game after our training had been affected by running around to look for passports in the past weeks,” said Mutandwa.
Mutandwa believes his club will progress beyond the preliminary rounds at the games.