Zimbabwe wrapped up their participation at the 9th All-Africa Games by collecting a bronze medal through the men's 4x400-metre relay team at the 5 July Stadium here on Sunday night.
The relay team of Nelton Ndebele, Talkmore Nyongani, Gabriel Chikomo and Lewis Banda had been hoping to add to the seven gold medals won by swimmer Kirsty Coventry in the opening week of the sporting showcase.
Coventry, who has since returned to her Austin, Texas, base in the United States, set the tone for a better medal haul for Zimbabwe at this year's Games when she led the way with an individual contribution of nine medals.
Zimbabwe, in eighth place on the medals table, completed their flirtation with the Games with a total of 23 medals, namely seven gold, eight silver and as many bronze -- a huge improvement from their pathetic showing at the 2003 competition in Abuja, Nigeria, where they even had a bigger team but could only manage seven medals.
There had been high hopes to add the coveted gold from the 4x400m relay to those 23 medals for Zimbabwe, but the Zimbabweans, the best-placed team in the semi-final heats, were edged into third place by eventual winners and dark horses Botswana and silver medal winners Nigeria.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article