By Nick Butler

Olympic Day celebrations are part of an long-term to produce more Olympic participants in Zimbabwe ©AFP/Getty ImagesCelebrations to mark Olympics Day in Zimbabwe will be held next week in Bulawayo following the success of a similar event held there last year.


Since 1987, it has become customary for celebrations to be held all over the world to mark Olympics Day, formally established on June 23 by Modern Olympics founder Pierre de Coubertin in 1894, with a fun run often forming the centrepiece of the day. 

In Zimbabwe, commemorations will take place on June 28 in White City Stadium, it has been announced by Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive Anna Mguni. 

As well as both a five and 10 kilometre runs, a number of Olympic sports will be on display with participants drawn from primary and secondary schools, colleges, with amateur, as well as professional athletes, featuring.

Mguni claimed the aim of the day is to celebrate Olympism and share its values with the country at large, while they will be held in Bulawayo rather than capital city Harare because the Regional Five Youth Games are due to take take place there from December 4 to 15. 

Up to 15 nations from throughout Central and Southern Africa are expected compete in the biennial event for under-20 athletes. 

"We saw a good opportunity to spread the event around and we had a good event last year there so we saw it fit to hold it in Bulawayo again," Mguni said.

"We want to share the values of Olympism, since Bulawayo will also host the Region Five Games later this year," she said.

Encouraging more people to take up Olympic sports to help boost Zimbabwean performance in future Games will be another aim.

Earlier this year, Luke Steyn became Zimbabwe's first ever Winter Olympian in Sochi and came a creditable 57th in the giant slalom.

Alpine skier Luke Steyn became Zimbabwe's first Winter Olympian, in Sochi earlier this year ©Getty ImagesAlpine skier Luke Steyn became Zimbabwe's first Winter Olympian, in Sochi earlier this year ©Getty Images







But most of Zimbabwe's Olympic success in recent years has come by virtue of swimmer Kirsty Coventry who, after winning seven Olympic medals, including one gold at both the Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Games, is now a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

This follows another boost in March, when the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee took advantage of Olympic Solidarity funding to distribute equipment to seven different sports associations.

The equipment, worth $30,000 (£18,000/€22,000), was distributed to the governing bodies responsible for athletics, basketball, netball, rugby union, tennis, triathlon and volleyball.

Zimbabwe also won 10 medals at the African Youth Games in Gabarone last month, including a gold for Petra Mukonde in the basketball shooting contest.

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