By Wallace Mawire.
Harare. (News Of The South) At least 3 000 local athletes in Zimbabwe are expected to grace the International Olympic Committee family in celebrating the 2015 Olympic day event being organized by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) at Chitungwiza town centre on Saturday 12 September, according to Chiedza Mafunga, Olympic Sports Centre Coordinator and Olympafrica Director.
According to Mafunga, the Olympic day is an annual event on both the International Olympic calendar as well as on the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee calendar.
pictures by Wallace Mawire
“The main aim of the event is to celebrate, promote and give education awareness messages to communities on healthy life styles that can be achieved through sport and exercise as well as give Olympism (a way of life based on ethical principles) messages,” Mafunga said.
Mafunga added that with the support from schools, communities and individuals, they are expecting at least 3000 participants drawn from both Harare and Chitungwiza.
” It being a sports for all event, participants will be encouraged to explore all the events that will be on offer that day. On offer will be football, netball, volleyball, rugby, wushu, karate, wrestling, judo, tug of war and many more fun physical activities and competitions. The main attraction events will be the 5km and 10km fun run starting and ending at the Town Centre,’ she added.
Addressing delegates at a Special Olympics Zimbabwe World Games held in Los Angeles in 2015, Professor Paul Mavhima, Deputy Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture said that the mission of Special Olympics is to provide year round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families other Special Olympics athletes and the Community.
“The Special Olympics World Games are an embodiment of this mission. Special Olympics World Games are more than just a game,’ Mavhima said.
Zimbabwe’s team brought back home a total of 12 medals from a team of 15 athletes.
“This is no mean feat at all, 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 6 bronze medals spread across the two disciplines that they competed in. We are here celebrating the transformative power and joy of sport and we would like to urge you all to let your spirit be unleashed by the athletes who are here dazzling us with their abilities. Their achievement is a promise centered on love, a promise animated by their enthusiasm and spontaneity of sport and joy. We as the Ministry we welcome you to join us in celebrating each one’s gift and talent as we salute such great achievements shown by these athletes,” Mavhima said.
According to Mavhima, the 2015 Special Olympics World Games were the largest and greatest humanitarian event on Earth this year. During the games some of the world’s heroic athletes’ from 165 countries competed on a World stage in 25 different sporting disciplines and Zimbabwe had 15 of those athletes participating.
“By doing so, our heroic athletes amongst other world athletes’ demonstrated to the world why people with intellectual disabilities should be included in our societies. They put on a brave showing and in the true spirit of the Special Olympics athletes oath which says “Let me win but if l cannot win let me be brave in the attempt” they were truly brave in the attempt and they indeed won,” Mavhima said.
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