Women In Sports

"I don't run anybody else's race. When the gun goes off, I must evaluate with my own body and see. Then, as the race develops, I run accordingly. So you can say that I do not have a set tactic for any race."

"If I have nothing to sacrifice, I have nothing to gain."

"Covid-19 has taught us a lot of lessons. You might be very talented, yes, but at times, depending on circumstances, you may find yourself having nowhere to utilise your talent. It’s been long since the athletes had a meaningful competition and this should serve as a lesson for the future."

"Discipline is needed, they need to listen to their coaches, follow the programmes that they are given by their coaches"

"I am still young, my mother has to look after me, before you have a kid you are still a child yourself, I have never been married, to have children in two years time, maybe. Even when you are a runner, you plan when you want to have kids, I will have obviously one day, that one I know"

"My knees cannot go up much higher than they used to so, sometimes doing track more helps keep them fresh. I haven’t pulled out of a race because of my knees, when I feel they are so painful I slow down, I know somehow they are going to heat up and I am to follow up. I don’t have a diet, I eat anything as long as I am hungry"

"I don’t intend to stop running because there are people who are older than me who are still at it. There is this guy, I don’t know where he is from, he was 83 by then, he could run the marathon in three hours at 83, they always call him the fastest guy according to his age. When we run, we run according to ages, I run as a veteran, but when I beat the seniors and get into the top 10 I am considered both ways. Besides there are ladies who have been running before I even got into running, Catherine Ndereba is older than me, she can still run as fast. The issue is about the right training, if you master what you want to do"

"There are quite a number of races I want to compete in this year, they are saying there is a race on 25 May in Harare then another on 29 July on the same course, same route where quite a number of international athletes are going to run there. I really want to try my best, I have run the Comrades Marathon without the intention to finish, I never ran to finish but I ran it, I can’t remember because I ran it twice then after that I discovered that when you run this race you really need to put the proper endurance. Comrades, you can run without speed but if you put the right endurance and the right distance in your knees you will be home and dry but if you start by speeding then you won’t have the proper strength in the knees, you won’t do anything there. I really want to finish it at 45, the Russian guy Kotov won it at that age"

"It’s a long time since I last ran the cross country, I can’t remember the exact year but it was in Portugal. That route that we did the other day we ran it once some time ago. I wasn’t training for the cross country, I was training for the Old Mutual marathon in Harare where I finished third"

"The race was challenging and it was tough on its own besides those three girls who were running so fast, the race was tough and the course itself, we were climbing the steps, getting into water, coming back again, repeatedly five times, I really knew that if I stayed there, I was going to keep my pace and maintain it, not to chase anybody because in running you don’t copy somebody but you run according to how you trained. If the pace is too high you need to go back to your own pace, you really need to keep shuffling the cards where you are calculating, after that you feel how tough the course, if they are too fast you let them go, if they are too slow you carry on"

"I train every day, twice a day, it honestly depends on what are you doing, it’s not about covering more kilometres everyday, it’s about what you are doing per day because yesterday we did track, the day before we did track we are going to have the jogging almost one hour thirty, almost two hours, so for one hour thirty at times you would have covered 20 kilometres, then plus or minus the track that you did in the morning"

"It’s about training and discipline, right now I am from training, I went around five o’clock, I did two hours 17 minutes, almost closer to 30 kilometres, it’s pretty slow, at two hours I should have covered 30km, I haven’t got a lot of speed but a combination of speed and endurance, it will make things work"

"I am the vice-chairperson of the Athletics Commission. We are representing athletes the wrong or right way, we are their ambassadors. We want to see the sport grow in Zimbabwe"

"I have a small project of mine I’m doing. I’m building a big house somewhere, the completion of which will see me end up as being a sponsor of a marathon. We don’t know what God has for us in front there, one day I might wake up and say here is a race I am sponsoring"

"I am training plus you know am ageing, am getting old, so am doing something that I will fall on when I retire. And you know you don’t eat everything, even uprooting the tree, you have to eat the fruits, then leave the tree so that when you grow old, you will be just getting something from what you have been doing rather than just become redundant"

"Tabitha is turning 46 but you will amazed at how she is still doing it on the road. Remember this is the lady who ran 2 hours 29 minute in the 42km distance some time back and represented Zimbabwe at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To me, Tabitha is the best ever"

"Most of the times I train with Tabitha Tsatsa, a veteran I regard as the best ever female long distance runner in the country"

"You won’t believe it, I know, but that has been my routine ever since I turned professional. I do not have any spare time. When I am not running I am sleeping or I am at church"

"I train in Bulawayo but I have my own house in Gweru, I have a number of cars but I don’t prefer to call them property (with a chuckle) and I also do not want to drive. I prefer to be driven by others"

"It’s difficult to achieve what you really want to achieve in terms of properties because of the economy but I have tried"

"Of course, in any profession there are ups and downs but I am grateful I have done my part"

"To me running is about healing my body, it’s a process that keeps me fit. I have got no plans to retire anytime soon, I can even hit 50 years"

"The future of Zimbabwean athletics lies in the hands of junior athletes, but if they are not promoted then who will lift up the sport in the coming years? We are growing old and as we retire who would come next?"

"They really need discipline, to be objective, to know what they really want in life. If you train with the mind of winning you always win, if you train with a weak mind, no I am just doing it for the sake of running then something is wrong somewhere."

"I take any opportunity I can to raise our country's flag really high and get some shining positive light on things over there."

"The most successful African Olympian in history!"

"This venue is going to be beautiful, and in a few months’ time will be welcoming athletes from all around the world. And you must be proud because it really is a stunning Village. We’re truly grateful to have been here and are now looking forward to walking back in, in a few months, seeing all the countries’ flags out of the windows"

"This is what Italy is known for, blending history, culture and passion"

"We’ve had a wonderful tour this morning, earlier at what will be the home of ice hockey at the Games, where it was wonderful to see the fast pace and progress of work"

"Together with the Spotlight Initiative, we will expand the contribution of sport to ending violence against women and girls through joint advocacy, training and direct support to community programmes. To truly make a difference, we need strong partnerships, political will and continued investment, because we know that investing in sport works"

"Every step, every game, every movement saves lives — and saves money. Physical inactivity already costs healthcare systems an estimated 27 billion dollars every year to treat preventable diseases"

"Studies show that every dollar invested in sport and physical activity can deliver a fourfold return in health and economic benefits — from lower healthcare costs to longer, healthier lives. In other words, investing in sport is a long-term investment in stronger, more resilient communities"

"Italy is known for its landscapes, right, the beautiful landscapes, the family feel, the passion that Italians have for sport. They’re ready to put on a show. It’s going to be a beautiful show"

"The Olympic Games showcase the best of humanity (...) I want to ensure the Games remain relevant and a space of inspiration, especially in a very divided world"

"With so many wars and conflicts affecting millions of innocent people all around the world, sport has the ability to bring the whole world together in peaceful competition"

"Like everyone interested in peace for the region, we follow the current diplomatic developments very closely and hope that they can soon lead to a pathway to peace. Our deepest sympathy continues to go out to all those affected by this conflict, and we naturally stand in solidarity with the Olympic community in the region"

"My teammates became friends and family for life"

"Going to Auburn played a huge role in my life in giving me a platform"

"It was incredible seeing how powerful sport can be to break down barriers and bring people together"

"To be standing there and thinking about when I was 9 years old and now nearly 21, I had finally achieved my goal and my dream"

"Standing on the podium was quite surreal"

"I told my parents, ‘I just want to go to the Olympic Games one day and win Zimbabwe a gold medal"

"I did fine at school, but I was never an A student. But in the pool I was able to really find who I was"

"Swimming just really became a safe haven for me"

"“Everyone there including President Mugabe knows something needs to change because so many people are hurting.”"

"“I have always stayed out of politics, I don't believe it would be appropriate to talk about it.”"

"“There are younger, stronger swimmers coming up and they are hungry. I can't influence what they do, I only know what I can do and I know how greedy I am to defend my title.”"

"“is much harder to retain your position at the top than to get to the top.”"

"“in athletics, older runners tend to go for longer races, but it's the opposite in swimming because your body can't handle the endurance.”"

"“Everyone at home is so supportive. People recognise me, say how proud they are of me. It's awesome to hear, it's amazing to know I can touch so many people in a positive way.”"