2025 can be a better year for Zimbabwean sprinters

AFTER introducing themselves to the world this season, Zimbabwe sprinters should be counted in 2025.

The biggest athletics event will be the World Championships in Tokyo where representation is expected from the country’s top runners.

Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba were among the top 200m athletes at this year’s Olympics, an eventuality that proves that Zimbabwe has talent.

Makarawu is the country’s fastest man over 200m among Zimbabweans having run a blistering 19.93 seconds while Charamba is second best ever with a time of 19.95. Both were too good and qualified for the Paris Olympics, in which Makarawu finished sixth in the final and Charamba eighth.

At the end of the season in which Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo ran the fastest time of 19.46 seconds, Makarawu’s time is the 12th best of the season while Charamba is 15th.

The Zimbabwean duo can take heart in that the Olympics got every top athlete to run there under same conditions unlike other rankings where some are at more favourable conditions climate-wise and quality of the track- wise.

Another Zimbabwean Edwin Nyamutswa had a ranking of 189 under World Athletics with his best of the season of 20.59 seconds.

Kishne Thompson of Jamaica has the world’s fastest time of 9.77 seconds in 2024.

Makarawu finds himself ranked 73rd over the distance with a time of 10.06 seconds, which was close to the 10 flat, which was the qualifying mark for the Paris Olympics.

Zimbabwe’s Clinton Muunga is ranked 194th in the world and ran a season’s best of 10.18 seconds, with Charamba 10.28 and Ngoni Makusha fourth, among Zimbabweans in 10.30 seconds.

In essence some of them from a motion position can run a sub 10 seconds leg of the relays.

Zimbabwe has the potential to do well in Africa and world in the 4x100m relay.

Makarawu had the third best time of 20.29 seconds in the indoor 200m.

Zimbabwe athletes did not fare strongly in the 400m with Takudzwa Hove running 45.47 seconds for a 121st place in the World Athletics rankings.

Leon Tafirenyika with his 46.05 seconds is 293rd while Simba Makede is 496th with his 46.50.

In the 10 000m, Bradley Makuvire has a time of 28 minutes 29.91 seconds and is 284th in the world.

According to World Athletics, Tendai Zimuto had the fastest marathon, running the 42.2km in two hours nine minutes 30 seconds.

Marathon record holder, Isaac Mpofu who returned from the Olympics where he finished 19th, boasts of two hours 10 minutes nine seconds as his best.

However, some events run on unofficial events, recorded better times and some Zimbabwean athletes were not considered by World Athletics for their rankings.