By Ntokozo Magongo
The second edition of the Lubombo Marathon comes bigger and better as it holds a ticket for Palau Marathon that will be held in Taiwan on June 4.
The best liSwati to shine in the Lubombo Marathon to be hosted by TZD Sports will get an opportunity to join other runners in the Palau Marathon courtesy of the Taiwan Embassy.
The second edition of the Lubombo Marathon will be held on April 1 in Siteki. The race launched yesterday in the presence of Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries ‘Madze’ Bulunga will comprise three events, 42km, 21km and 10km.
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TZD Sports Chairman and Athletics Eswatini President Zakhele Dlamini said preparations for the event were at an advanced stage and they were looking upon the presence of international runners.
“We are happy that Athletics Eswatini has decided to use the race to select one liSwati athlete amongst the winners to win a ticket to attend Palau Marathon”.
“The athlete will be selected from the 42.2km and 21.1km and will be based on qualifying time to be set by Athletics Eswatini. We wish to extend our gratitude to the Embassy, and we hope this gesture will be yearly and become part of the Lubombo Marathon,” he said.
Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Harries Bulunga has today launched the TZD Lubombo Marathon 2023. The marathon, which took a break in 2020 due to COVID-19, returns on 01 April 2023. pic.twitter.com/zdEP1JHaw6
— Eswatini Government (@EswatiniGovern1) March 6, 2023
The athlete to be selected will have to clock at least 2:55 hours for the ladies and 2:20 hours for the men in the 42km while the qualifying times for the 21km is 1:30 hours for the ladies and 1:05 hours for men.
Meanwhile, Eswatini Sport and Recreation (ESRC) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Darius Dlomo said if at least two athletes qualify for the Paula Marathon, they will cater for the other athlete.
He said they will cover all the expenses and they would love to see the country represented by at least two athletes in the marathon to be attended by over 10 000 runners.
