THE African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Youth Games scheduled for Maseru, Lesotho from 4 to 13 December 2020 have been postponed by a year due to the prevailing coronavirus pandemic. The Games will now be held in December 2021 with the 2022 Games scheduled for Malawi remaining unchanged. “The spiking numbers of COVID-19 infections in almost all Region 5 Member Countries continue to be a cause of concern and source of anxiety in the sports movement,” the organisers said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision was reached during the Troika of AUSC Region 5 Ministers of sport virtual meeting held on Friday, 31 July 2020. The indaba was a follow-up assessment of the impact of the pandemic on the Region 5
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Siame sprints to Olympics, World Championships
Suwilanji Mpondela – Africa’s youngest newly elected Athletes Commission Chair
Suwilanji Theresa Fotwe Mpondela will long remember Saturday 9 March 2019. She made history that day, becoming the first Chair of the Athletes Commission for the National Olympic Committee of Zambia (NOCZ). She beat other candidates from 15 national sports federations such as swimming, table tennis, basketball and tennis – an incredible accomplishment for a young promising athlete that only turned 19 last month.“My mother taught me that there are no barriers,” she said. “You carry the power regardless of age.” A beneficiary of the IOC Scholarship, she was one of seven out of 100 candidates shortlisted by the organisation for this role. In her new role, Mpondela wants athletes to understand the power of education and to equip them with tools that
Kennedy Luchembe is Country’s Flag Bear at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires
ZAMBIA’S 400 metres gold medallist Kennedy Luchembe on Saturday served as the country’s flag bearer during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires. The 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games and the 2018 Africa Youth Games world ‘champion’ was announced at games currently taking place in Argentina. The 3rd Summer Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires have got off to a great start. For the first time in the history of the modern Olympic Games, the Opening Ceremony was held in the street, with the celebration open to all – and over 200,000 people showed up for the party! Addressing the young athletes in his speech, IOC president Thomas Bach said: “To get here, each of you trained and
Kabange Mupopo wins gold in Durban
AFRICAN 400m women champion Kabange Mupopo has won a gold medal at the on-going Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) senior champions in Durban South Africa. Mupopo, who is one of Zambia’s already qualified athletes going to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics produced a scintillating performance in the final and left her rivals in a distance to claim the gold. Mupopo took the gold medal after timing 51.6 seconds, her second best time this year, to leave Kenyan Margaret Nyairera in distant second with a time 52.2 seconds. Nigerian Okon- Patience George was third and completed the podium finish with a time of 52.3 seconds. This was sweet victory for the Lusaka runner as she was beaten by the Kenyan in the semi-final with