Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    HARARE, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The All-Africa Games gave some of the Olympic Games-bound Zimbabwean athletes a good platform of gauging their strength before taking part in the world's biggest sporting showcase in Beijing Olympics next year, local media reported on Wednesday.

    Robert Mutsauki, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee chief executive, was quoted by The Herald as saying that the All-Africa Games also gave a number of local athletes the perfect opportunity of fine-tuning themselves before this month's World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan.

    Reviewing the performances of the Olympic-bound Zimbabwean athletes at the Algiers Games, Mutsauki said they were pleased with their overall showing.

    ZOC were also convinced that they would do well at both the World Championships in Athletics and the Beijing Games

    He singled out young United States-based swimmer Heather Brand as one athlete who really showed improvement during the All-Africa Games.

    During the Games, Brand raced inside the Beijing Games B Standard qualifying time for the 100m butterfly by clocking 1:00.99 on her way to winning a silver medal for Zimbabwe.

    The Olympic Games B Standard qualifying time for the 100m butterfly event is 1:01.43.

    Mutsauki also gave a thumbs-up to sprinter Young Talkmore Nyongani whom he said was the outstanding Zimbabwean athlete in the track events in Algiers.

    In Algiers, Nyongani won a silver medal in the 400m event and also helped the 4x400m relay team to pick a bronze medal.

    Nyongani, however, outshone fellow sprinter Brian Dzingai who only managed to pick up a bronze medal after helping the men's 4x100m relay team to finish third in the final.

    Mutsauki was also confident that female long-distance runner Tabitha Tsatsa would do well in the marathon event at the Beijing Games despite finishing seventh in the half-marathon at the Algiers Games.

    Tsatsa and another Olympic Games-bound marathon runner, Mike Fokorani, will also represent Zimbabwe in the women and men's marathon events at the World Championships in Japan.