Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) Secretary General Filbert Bayi will lead three athletes and a coach on a training tour to New Zealand ahead of the 20th Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland from July 23-August 3, this year.
Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) Secretary General, Filbert Bayi
Tanzania is expected to send eight teams – athletics, boxing, cycling, judo, table tennis, weightlifting, Paralympics, swimming – to Glasgow. Athletics Tanzania (AT) Secretary General Suleiman Nyambui will accompany the athletes, who leave on Wednesday for New Zealand, as coach.
“New Zealand insists Bayi should be in the team because of his memorable performance at the 1974 Commonwealth Games held in Christchurch where he set a world record in 1500 metres,” Nyambui said.
Athletes making the trip are Misiwa Lameck (800 and 1500 metres), Imani James (400m) and Peter Nyang’ono (800 and1500m). Nyambui said nine other athletes will leave on April 14 for Ethiopia under coach Shabani Inki.
They are Samson Ramadhani, Faustine Mussa and John Leonard (marathon), Alphonce Simbu (5000 and10,000m), Jacqueline Sekilu (5000 and10,000m), James Shighela (1500m), Mohamed Ramadhani (1500m), Jeremiah Selelia (1500 and 5000m) and Hafidhi Khalfan (400m). Another batch of six athletes will leave on May 1 for China.
They are Michael Gwandu (high jump and triple jump), Hadinary Haruna (200 and 400m), Sylvester Naali (800 and1500m), Fabian Sule (5000m), Ali Hamisi Ghullam (100 and 200m) and Kenneth Maluba (100 and 200m). They will be under coach Boniface Kimisha.
Boxing Federation of Tanzania (BFT) Secretary General Makore Mashaga said three boxers — Joseph Martine (75kg), Emmilian Patrick (56kg) and Fabian Charles (60kg) — will leave on April 14 for Turkey under coach Jonas Mwakipesile. Five other boxers will leave on May 1 for China where they will train under coach Mzonge Hassan.
They are Selemani Kidunda (69kg), Nasser Mafuru (60kg), Mohamed Furahisha (52kg), Ezra Paulo (56kg) and Hemed Hakimu (81kg). Table tennis players Amon Tumaini, Neema Mwaisula, Mwamvita Mohamed and Masoud Mtalaso Twill leave on May 1 for China under coach Agnes Ngodoki.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Bernard Membe, was recently quoted as saying that the government has decided to assist sports associations whose athletes will represent the country in the multi-sport event in Glasgow, due to lack of international standard training facilities in the country.
Source Tanzania Daily News