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Ellina Mhlanga

Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWE’S Ngoni Makusha, a hopeful for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for an upcoming training camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria, South Africa.

The Games were moved to this year because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The 100m and 200m sprinter spent a month at the Centre between December and January and is set to return for a longer training camp lasting three months this time around. Makusha is one of the few athletes that were awarded the Olympic scholarship for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

But he is hoping he can get more support to enable him to achieve his goal of qualifying for the Tokyo Games.

The Olympic scholarship programme funded by the Olympic Solidarity, an arm of the International Olympic Committee, offers National Olympic Committees the possibility to obtain financial and technical assistance for a limited number of elite athletes, training and attempting to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Posting on the GoFundMe page, Makusha it has always been his dream to make the Olympics. 

“This page is set up to help me adequately prepare and reach the Olympics for the first time!

“As you may or may not know I am a Zimbabwean sprinter with a PB of 20.49 seconds in 200m and 10.17 seconds in 100m which is position 3 and 4 respectively on Zimbabwe all-time list, and I am a recorder holder in the 4×100m relay which qualified for the World Relays. “My highest ever world ranking: 86th men’s 200m and 182nd men’s 100m.

“Growing up my dream has always been to make it to the Olympics and represent my country and this year I have a chance to realise that dream.

“As part of my preparations for the Games, I will need to travel to South Africa for a training camp in Pretoria at the High-Performance Centre where I will be staying for three months receiving high-performance training and also competing. 

“Right now I’m not able to train in Zimbabwe because of the lockdown restrictions and in order for me to qualify I will need IAAF certified competitions which I can only access in South Africa as well. Please help me achieve my dream, and every little helps,” Makusha said.

Makusha yesterday said he is looking at raising US$3 500.

“So I need US$3 500 which I will use for three months. Expenses include transport, rent, gym fees, coach fees, track fees, food and nutrition, physiotherapists,” said Makusha. 

National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president, Tendai Tagara, said they have played their part in assisting the athlete as the scholarship covers his needs.

“He is on a full scholarship so us as an association we have done our part to look for a scholarship he got. We have no problem for him to look for extra funds but that does not mean he doesn’t have his basics. 

“He is on a full scholarship recognised by the IOC. It comes from the Olympic Solidarity. As a federation we apply and get an athlete who deserve and he deserved it together with Rutendo Nyahora. 

“There is nothing wrong about it if there are other sources he can get funds from but it doesn’t have to appear as if he is desperate. He is not desperate,” said Tagara.

In South Africa he has engaged one of the top coaches in that country Thabo Matebedi. 

Tagara said they are optimistic his stay in South Africa, working with an elite coach, will have a positive effect on his targeted goal.