Zimbabwe: The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) held an award ceremony in Harare on January 26, 2024, to honour outstanding athletes.
Marathon runner Isaac Mpofu won the Athlete of the Year and the Senior Men Athlete of the Year Awards. Whereas Vimbayi Maisvorewa, hailing from the United States, won the Senior Women Athlete of the Year Award.
Takunda Mhete received the Junior Men of the Year Award, while Kimberly Kachambwa received the Junior Women of the Year Award.
Along with athletes, the national association also honoured coaches and technical officials. The list of the recognised winners is as follows:
- Athlete of the Year: Isaac Mpofu
- Athlete of the Year (Senior Men): Isaac Mpofu, Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Bradley Makuvire
- Athlete of the Year (Senior Women): Vimbayi Maisvorewa, Ashley Miller and Faith Nyathi
- Athlete of the Year (Junior Men): Takunda Mhete, Samuel Dauti and Shawn Katsidzira
- Athlete of the Year (Junior Women): Kimberly Kachambwa, Nontokozo Ncube and Samkeliso Ndebele
- Coach of the Year: Brenda Leipe, Silas Muringani and Cuthbert Nyasango
- Technical Official of the Year: Claris Gwata, Apinos Chiwara and Ottilia Kurebwaseka
- Best Province: Bulawayo, Harare and Manicaland
The president of NAAZ – Tendayi Tagara confirmed about the holding of the award ceremony last week. The award function has been organised for more than twenty years as part of efforts to motivate the athletes.
The national award ceremony is organised to promote excellence in sports in Zimbabwe. Moreover, the recognition aims to stimulate the development of athletes through sports.
NAAZ holds a vision to put Zimbabwe on the world map through sports and lift the human spirit through sports.
Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA) began with recognising the Sportsperson or Athlete of the Year Award, which was organised by the Sports Writers Association of Zimbabwe, before being discontinued for a short period.
The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) revived the awards in 1998. The ANSA awards represent the talent, commitment, and competition of all people involved in sports.
The main purpose of ANSA is to recognise, celebrate and reward top sports icons in Zimbabwe. The icons honoured would have performed exceptionally well at National, Regional, Continental and world championships.
The award majorly recognises Athletes, Technical Officials, Coaches and Teams that compete at the highest level of sports.