Fanfare as MPs fete Simbu

POMP and fanfare greeted Tanzanian marathoner, Alphonce Simbu, at the National Assembly yesterday, following the runner’s recent feat at the international competitions.

Simbu, who finished fifth in London Marathon last Saturday, visited the House here at the invitation of the Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Harrison Mwakyembe. He was accompanied by officials from DStv, who are the runner’s official sponsors and officials from the National Service, JKT.

Shortly after the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Tulia Ackson mentioned Simbu as among the visitors, MPs erupted into a deafening applause, giving standing ovation to the country’s new hero in athletics.

After the morning session, Simbu had an opportunity to greet Prime Minister. Several MPs including Primer Majaliwa had a photo session with the runner.

Premier Majaliwa, could not hide his high esteem on the runner, saying he has made the country proud. Majaliwa said the government acknowledges and respect contributions made by several stakeholders in ensuring that Simbu continues to make his mark at the world’s top level.

He wished the runner best of luck ahead of the forthcoming 2017 World Championships in Athletics to be held in August this year in London. The long distance runner later met with Minister Mwakyembe at his office, where they had a brief discussion.

Mwakyembe expressed his delight following the runner’s recent feat, saying his ministry will continue his achievement as a challenge to seek for more. “We take this very serious and we will continue to work with other stakeholders and other ministries and institution especially the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) to see how they can support sports. We need to come up with more sports centres to develop sports in the country,” he said.

After finishing fifth at 2016 Rio Olympics and snatching a gold medal at the 2017 Mumbai Marathon, Simbu managed to put up yet another stunning performance to finish in lucrative London Marathon.

Simbu, who clocked 2.09.10 in the closely-contested race, was awarded $10,000 (about 30m/-).

Kenya’s Daniel Wanjiru recorded the greatest victory of his career as he fended off Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele to win the race. Simbu said upon arrival in Arusha on Tuesday, that he would fight singlehandedly to accomplish his tough mission in London by making sure no Kenyan or Ethiopian finishes ahead of him.

“I managed to beat them in Mumbai Marathon, therefore, it is very possible to outshine them again in London,” he said.

The Arusha-born Simbu said he has decided to plot his big opponents right from their home base in Kenyan Rift valley, the training ground of the most medalists. Most preferable camp is Eldoretbased Kipchoge Keino Academy where athletes from various parts of the world usually train with Kenya-based runners.

Additionally, Simbu’s sponsors, The Multi-Choice Tanzania (DSTV) though its Public Relations Manager, Johnson Mshana, said they hope to see Simbu taking the National Anthem abroad and most likely in the coming IAA World Championships.