Zimpapers Logo

ON a warm summer night in Paris, France on Thursday, Zimbabwe’s sprint sensations Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu etched their names in the annals of the country’s sporting history.

The pair lined up for the Olympic Games men’s 200 metre athletics final and put on a commendable fight with Makarawu and Charamba finishing sixth and eighth respectively.

It was a race that belonged to Africa as Botswana’s Letshile Tebogo became the first person from his country to win Olympic gold and the first man from Africa to win the 200m event.

For the time in the history of the Olympics, Zimbabwe had two athletes lining up in the 200m final of the global sporting showcase.

That it has taken this country 16 years to produce athletes with the capacity to reach the Olympics 200m final shows how tough the terrain is at the ultimate sporting competition on planet Earth.

Brian Dzingai, who finished fourth in a race won by iconic Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing, China, had been the last Zimbabwean to reach the 200m final.

Dzingai had initially finished sixth before two athletes who were in front of him were disqualified.

While it may not have been a fairytale ending for Makarawu and Charamba on Thursday night in much the same way as it was not for Dzingai in 2008, their heroics deserve to be celebrated.

Their exploits, not only captured the imagination of a sport-loving nation, but showed the huge potential that this country’s athletes have.

As we salute the manner in which Makarawu and Charamba fought bravely for Zimbabwe’s sporting cause, we also wish the very best to marathon runners Rutendo Nyahora and Isaac Mpofu who take to the road in the women and men’s competitions today and tomorrow respectively.

The sprinters’ performance on Thursday night and the courageous show by rower Stephen Cox have shown the heights, which our athletes can scale on the big stage if we upscale our planning and preparations and punch the right codes that breed success.

We are already proud to have a decorated Olympian in our midst in Minister of Sport, Recreations, Arts and Culture Kirsty Coventry.

Thus, Team Zimbabwe’s exploits at this year’s Olympics must therefore provide the launchpad for all sporting associations that are affiliated to the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) to step their act and ensure that preparations for the next games in 2028 in Los Angeles in the United States begin in earnest.

It is imperative that there is a stronger public-private sector partnership in support of our athletes.

Strategies designed at producing podium finishers at the Olympics must, without much delay, be crafted using the lessons learnt from the Paris Games, which come to an end tomorrow.

Government through the Sports Ministry, the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) and ZOC have to lead the way in coming up with those strategies which should also consider the worrying and current problem of lack of sporting facilities that meet international standards.

The lack of suitable facilities haunting the country has resulted in limiting the opportunities for the bulk of talented athletes, who otherwise, have the potential to rise and shine for Zimbabwe at big events like the Olympics, World Cups and World Championships.

In the absence of facilities, only a lucky few with access to scholarships at institutions in places like South Africa, Canada and the United States, have had the chance to develop and challenge for honours at the Olympics.

Both Makarawu and Charamba are being developed in the United States and more such athletes could be trained here.

While the support that ZOC received from the corporate world for this year’s Olympics is appreciated, we believe more can still be done.

Incentivising the athletes in such ways as the US$1 000 each given to Makarawu and Charamba by one of the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe’s (NAAZ) and ZOC’s all-weather friends Baldmin Holdings, are initiatives needed to spur Team Zimbabwe to success and must be encouraged and applauded.

It was also refreshing to note that despite being developed in the United States, there a Zimbabwean hand helping the likes of Makarawu and Charamba in their growth.

The pair of Kenneth Harnden and Dzingai, who are both based in the United States, have turned into coaching after hanging their spikes.

Zimbabwe, in fact, does have many qualified, experienced coaches and talented athletes at various levels from grassroots, provincial, national championships and up to international levels.

We just have to ensure there is a systematic manner in which athletes and coaches are nurtured, which leaves no one and no place behind.

There has to be enough funding to sustain the programmes being made available.

The 2024 Olympics have shown the light and Team Zimbabwe should now return in 2028 even bigger and better.