CROSSROADS : Tanzania can become athletics powerhouse

Last Sunday, Tanzania was in the international news for a good reason, thanks to Alphonce Felix Simbu who won the Mumbai Marathon 2017 in India. It was a glorious moment for our dear motherland, with one of our own putting us on the world map.

According to the secretary general of Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC), Filbert Bayi, the win was a big motivation for the whole nation. Yes, I second that.

Our hero left for the race quietly. There was hardly any fanfare and I am not sure even if he had been given the Tanzania flag, for just in case he won.

He jetted back home quietly, and I am sure very content with his prize of $42,000.

Our soccer crazy media did not attach a lot of importance to the win. I did not see any mainstream paper (forget the sports and entertainment newspapers) feature Simbu as the main story. Considering the long drought that we have experienced as a nation in getting athletic medals at international level, this makes Simbu’s win even greater news.

I can bet Africa’s athletics powerhouses Kenya and Ethiopia must have been surprised as their countrymen took second and third prizes. What a sweet win for Tanzania!

As we celebrate the fortune of Simbu, who was also came fifth in a marathon at the Rio Olympics last year, it should be known that it’s his own efforts, endurance, determination and hard work that has placed him where he is today. Only, 24, he still has chances to win more international titles in the near future.

His win should be a wake-up call to Tanzanians to show that athletics is not only about good health but good money as well. We have everything as a nation to produce great athletes; all that is needed is aspirations and the right policy that will nature our people to take the sport as a career. Bayi wants Tanzanians to know that athletics pays even better than soccer!

In the 1970s, Bayi was a champion thus he knows what he is talking about. He set the world record for 1,500 metres in 1974.

Running for only two hours (2:09:19), Simbu pocketed $42,000. Our young people need to know this. But above all, they must be told the whole truth that, athletics calls for great discipline and a lifetime of practice.

As we celebrate Simbu’s feat, we need to seriously listen to successful people like Bayi, and athletic coaches such as Iddi Mhunzi, so as to revive athletics in Tanzania. It is not about leisure but for good health and employment.

Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan sometime back announced that every second Saturday of the month would be set aside for the physical fitness drive nationwide. The government decided to do something about the rise in lifestyle diseases caused partially by the lack of or refusal to exercise.

The Vice President has also mentioned the re-introduction of sports at schools and directed the ministry of Education to ensure that schools have sports grounds.

We need to have a wholesome sports development agenda for the country, where soccer, athletics and other games are nurtured for good health, money and the glory for our nation. Look at how Simbu has marketed our nation with a single medal! Ask the Tourism ministry what value the win it has added!

As we congratulate and thank Simbu, we should also encourage and congratulate our upcoming Magdalena who is also determined to win titles. Magdalena emerged the fourth out of foreign female runners at the Mumbai Marathon this year.

The writer is an assistant lecturer, Dar es Salaam University College of Education.