LIAM Savari and Lorna Doorman were the inaugural men and women winners of the ZB Bank Half Marathon which was staged at the financial institution’s sports club in Harare, yesterday.
Savari, who finished fifth at the Victoria Falls Marathon back in July, touched the ribbon in 1 hour 17 minutes and 3 seconds to beat Marlon Tauzeni’s 1 hour 18 minutes 35 seconds, in second place in the 21km race.
Solomon Mutsikamahwe settled for third place crossing the finish line, 59 seconds behind Tauzeni to complete the podium.
In the female class, Doorman produced a dominant display touching the ribbon in 1 hour 34 minutes 1 second and was more than 10 minutes ahead of Patricia Chikambura who clocked 1 hour 45 minutes 33 seconds, in second place.
Rumbidzwai Chiunda made the finish line in 1 hour 51 minutes 41 seconds to take third place.
There was also competition in the10 km run while others took part in the 5km walk/run as well as Zumba in the annual event which attracted close to 200 participants.
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ZB Financial Holding organised the event in partnership with Harare Athletic Club and intends to move the event to different venues around the country each year as well as include wheelchair racing going forward.
“The half marathon will be an annual event and we will be holding it in different parts of the country. Next year we will be in Bulawayo. For more inclusivity we will also include People Living with Disabilities, starting with the Wheelchair Race. Thank you to Walter Chimuka and the Harare Athletics Team as well as all our stakeholders who have made this event a success. We win together as a team, and we are all winners just by participating,” group CEO Shepherd Fungura said after the event.
“At ZB we are aligned to sustainability and the UNSDG number 3 which is to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. I am happy to see participation across various ages and of note, are students participating from our schools entrepreneurship development programme with Emergination Africa.
“This inaugural ZB Half Marathon is one of our ways of contributing towards a healthy nation and increased productivity,” Fungura added.