Local top athlete Sibusiso Nzima is going ahead to samba in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but not at the popular annual Rio Carnival. He will be attending the biggest sporting event on the planet, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Sibusiso from Simunye in Westonaria paved his way to the Olympic dream, this after putting in some good performances at international and local marathons.
He ran a time of 2:16:42 in Düsseldorf, Germany followed by a 2:15:38 run at the Cape Town Marathon to meet the 2:17:00 standard set by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) and Athletics South Africa (ASA).
Sibusiso, together with local athletes Keneiloe Sesing and Kabelo Melamu were among the top athletes being honoured at the recent Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) Awards hosted at Montecasino.
Originally from Bekkersdal, where he was discovered by the late Zithulele Sinqe, he made his mark at many competitions as a junior including the Pick n Pay Junior Road Running series in the colours of Harmony Athletics Club before he made a move to Powerade Athletics Club. He now runs for the Nedbank Running Team.
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio will not be his first international outing. He has taken part in events such as the World Champs in Moscow, the Hamburg Marathon as well as the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge in New York.
I am satisfied to have made the qualifying time for Rio, but I still have a lot to work on in order to stand out. I want to slash my current qualifying times,” said Sibusiso.
Want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us an SMS/ WhatsApp message with your name and cellphone number to 079 413 8726.
Familiarise yourself with our WhatsApp service disclaimer.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 693 3671.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Roodepoort Record, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!