NetOne has called on corporate Zimbabwe to join forces and invest in the country’s sports ecosystem, so that elite athletes can be identified, developed and supported all the way to international competition.
NetOne representative Rudo Vicente made the appeal on Sunday, 11 October 2026, at the NetOne Comrades Marathon Achievement Awards at the Monomutapa Hotel in Harare.
The elite ceremony, which ran under the theme “30 Years Strong The Endurance to Go Further,” was organized to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Zimbabwean athletes who conquered the grueling 2026 Comrades Marathon in South Africa.
This year’s edition of the world’s most famous ultramarathon saw athletes take on a punishing 86-kilometre “Up Run”—a distance equivalent to running more than two standard marathons back-to-back.
Zimbabwean women dominated the global stage with two top-ten finishes. Nobukhosi Tshuma delivered an iconic podium finish, securing second place in the women’s race with a remarkable time of 5 hours, 53 minutes, and 36 seconds. National pride was amplified further by Loveness Madziva, who clinched an outstanding sixth-place finish in 6 hours, 9 minutes, and 54 seconds.
“Two Zimbabwean women among the top ten women in one of the world’s most celebrated ultramarathons—that is an achievement worthy of national recognition,” Vicente said, praising the entire contingent for carrying the national flag with pride.
The partnership with the Comrades community coincides with NetOne’s 30th anniversary of connecting Zimbabwe. Vicente drew a direct parallel between the mental and physical battles faced by long-distance runners and the journey of the telecom giant over the past three decades.
“Like an endurance athlete, an organisation does not travel for three decades without encountering hills,” Vicente noted. “There are climbs. There are difficult kilometres. But you keep moving. Our first 30 years have given us experience, resilience, and a strong foundation.”
Looking ahead, the company stated that its next operational chapter will be heavily anchored on greater innovation, digital inclusion, and community impact.
NetOne used the platform to advocate for health and wellness as a vital economic driver, linking it to the global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework. The company emphasized that the “S” (Social) component in ESG requires responsible businesses to measure success by the lives they touch and the health of the workforce.
Vicente challenged other corporate entities to embrace corporate wellness cultures and ease the burden on individual sports bodies.
“No single organisation needs to carry the entire distance. That is the power of partnership; we can go further when we move together,” Vicente said in an open invitation to corporate Zimbabwe.
“What if corporate wellness became embedded in organisational culture? What if we deliberately supported promising endurance athletes from identification through to international competition? That is the ecosystem we should build together.”
“I therefore wish to use this platform to invite other organisations to join us. There is room on this journey for many partners. Let us support our athletes. Let us invest in wellness.Let us create opportunities for young people. Let us strengthen community participation.”
The company honored all participants, including those who did not cross the finish line, emphasizing that in the arena of extreme endurance, the courage to stand at the starting line is a victory in itself.
