|
Seasoned athlete Francis Munthali has dismissed talk that he is over prime as claimed by some officials within the Athletics Association of Malawi (AAM).
The association has since replaced the Zomba based athlete with upcoming Kondwani Chiwina on the Olympic Games squad.
Munthali stated in an interview he was greatly disturbed by statements from AAM vice president Godfrey Phiri who insinuated in the press that the athlete was passing his prime.
The vice president’s remarks were a direct reference Munthali’s poor showing at the recent African Senior Qualifier in Congo Brazzaville which was a qualifying tournament for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
At the championship the athlete failed to beat his own best record of 3.43 in the 1,500m category after clocking 3.47.
“I am still the best athlete in the country because nobody has beaten me in this category. They can say my performance has been going down but there were contributing factors which my coach (Isaac Phiri) knows very well. I achieved my best record at the 2003 Commonwealth Games in Manchester where the facilities were excellent.
“In Congo Brazzaville I met a hostile situation. I had problems right from the airport. I could not change my traveller’s cheques in Brazzaville and was accommodated in a hotel far from the competition venue. There was not even a training field and I couldn’t run in the morning because soldiers were all over,” said Munthali.
The athlete also bemoaned the absence of any Malawian official to handle some issues on his behalf.
“My friends had managers who could handle issues like registration on their behalf. I had to run around facilitating these other issues when I could have been concentrating on training,” he narrated.
Munthali, who is a policeman by profession challenged he could beat his best record given the right environment and good exposure.
“According to my Olympic scholarship, I was supposed to participate in six international competitions before participating in the Olympics but this has never happened.”
The athlete said he saw the decision to replace him by upcoming Polytechnic Kondwani Chiwina coming “after reading the vice president’s remarks in the press. I saw it coming and I am not worried. The truth shall prevail,” he said.
National athletics coach Isaac Phiri threw his weight behind the athlete, when he said: “As coach I think I could have been consulted before any decision was made. I was with both athletes (Chiwina and Munthali) in camp and they could have contacted me for a fair assessment. Anyway, I don’t have to poke my nose into their politics,” said Phiri.
|
