By Ntokozo Magongo
MBABANE – The country’s 100m and 200m national record holder Sibusiso ‘Swazi Bolt’ Matsenjwa is hopeful of qualifying for the Senior African Athletics Championships and the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.
The 36-year-old is currently at High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa, where he is training in preparations of qualifying for the two coming big competitions. Matsenjwa had an unfinished business in the Olympics Games having made history in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics Games by being the first LiSwati to reach the semi-finals in such highly magnitude games.
The Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) who are custodians of the Olympics Games and African Championships squads is yet to announce the team to represent the country in both events.
First on the line will be the Senior African Athletics Championships to be held in Doula, Cameroon from June 21 to the 26 then the Paris 2024 Olympics Games will be next from July 26 to August 11 in France.
“I’m currently training in preparations of the upcoming African Championships and the Olympics Games. I train here in Pretoria, South Africa and sometimes I come back home for my training sessions,” he said.
Matsenjwa said he will be competing in the South Africa’s AGN League meetings, African Championships and the some European meetings to keep his hope high of making to Paris, France.
“I’m currently doing both the 200m and the 200m as I feel I had a chance in both events. All I need is to compete and focus,” he said.
Matsenjwa has a season best of 20:72 seconds in the 200m while to qualify for the Olympics he needs to clock at least 20:16 seconds while his personal best is 20:22 seconds.
In the 100m, his season best is 10:39 seconds while the qualifying time is 10:00 seconds with personal bests at 10:22 seconds.
