The Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe has grown in leaps and bounds over the years under the watchful eye and guidance of former Olympian mike Fokoroni and the club received another boost when the banking giant in Zimbabwe stepped in to offer Nedbank running club athlete Isaac Mpofu $10 000 to assist him in his preparations for the upcoming Olympic Games Marathon in Paris.
Mpofu is the only Zimbabwean to have qualified in athletics for his country for the 2024 edition of the games and the Nedbank running club athlete was in high spirits. “I am so happy to have received this support and I want to thank Nedbank so much and give them assurance that this will take me a long way in my preparation for the games,” said an elated Mpofu.
Nedbank Zimbabwe stated that they wanted to see Mpofu succeed and fly the flag high. “All we want is to see him do his best and raise the country’s flag high,” said Nedbank Zimbabwe’s head of Treasury Latifa Kassim.
The banking giant Nedbank South Africa has long been a supporter of road running and NB Sport Development formed the Nedbank running club back in 2008 with the Nedbank running club Zimbabwe branch officially registered in Zimbabwe since August 2016. “We are so grateful for what Nedbank has done for us and also not forgetting our founder of the club Nick Bester -Director of NB Sport -who shares our same vision to produce the future champions and also develop athletes from young, not just sign-up athletes who have already made it,” said Fokoroni.
The Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe has also set up a fully functional committee with Fokoroni heading up the club as chairperson. Monica Kativhu acts as club secretary with Two Oceans Marathon legend Marko Mambo the club coach. Patson Mhindu serves as an advisor and elite athletes Patience Murowe and Kelvin Pangiso oversee the club’s discipline.
The club has seen a multitude of success where besides the international accolades and world class results of Mpofu, athletes such as Moses Tarakinyu, who dominated the Two Oceans Half Marathon and Wellington Varevi who ran a world class 28:04 10km on the roads of Gqeberha have both also represented the country Internationally with Varevi having recently just competed at the World Cross Country Championships in Serbia.
Nedbank National team manager Nick Bester was happy with the work that was happening in Zimbabwe. “Mike has really done a good job balancing between still being a competing athlete himself, and also growing the Nedbank running club in Zimbabwe both from an elite perspective and also social perspective,” said Bester. “We are so grateful to Nedbank and also to all our club sponsors who enable this to be possible because without them none of this could happen.”