By Zim Sport Live Writer
Zimbabwe reached the men’s 4x400m relay final at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon after finishing third in their heat in a national under-20 record of 3:08.56.
Nenyasha Chihora, Emmanuel Uriga, Gift Khumalo and Ropafadzo Mzondo finished behind Australia and Poland to secure one of the automatic qualifying places for the final.
The performance also marked the first time Zimbabwe have reached the men’s 4x400m relay final at the World Under-20 Championships.
Australia won the heat in 3:07.04, with Poland second in 3:07.12. Zimbabwe finished ahead of France and Germany to claim third place.
Chihora ran the opening leg in 47.48 seconds, before Uriga clocked 46.74 on the second leg.
Khumalo followed with 48.11 before Mzondo produced Zimbabwe’s fastest split of the race, completing the anchor leg in 46.13 to bring the team home in 3:08.56.
The time improved Zimbabwe’s previous under-20 national record in the event and continues a strong year for the country’s 4x400m programme.
The senior men’s relay team set a national record of 2:59.01 at the World Athletics Relays in May, while the junior quartet has now established a new benchmark at the global Under-20 championships.
Zimbabwe will now line up in the final, which is scheduled to be the last event of the championships, against the other qualifying teams.