An athlete’s tale of pain, glory

on the path that took him through pain and glory.
From a kinky-haired Mzingwane schoolboy to the bright lights of Harare, before he ended up in Australia on an athletics scholarship, Nyoni saw it all. He won five gold medals at the Law Enforcement Games in Washington, DC, United States, in 1993. Nyoni was lucky to represent Zimbabwe at various regional and continental competitions like the All-Africa Games, the African Athletics Council competitions before a cruel injury cut short a promising career.
“Running for the national team was the highlight my career but I really enjoyed the whole of my career.
“Looking back, I do not have many regrets but just to say I started late and ended early,” said Nyoni who is now a provincial coach for middle distances for the Matabeleland South Province. Nyoni remembers the first time he made a mark.
“I still remember breaking a record that had been standing for 11 years at the Zimbabwe Republic Police competitions.
“It was in the 800m and the record had been set by Ian Harris and it was 1min 54 sec but during the ZRP championships in 1992, I set a new record of 1,51 seconds.
“I had just joined the Zimbabwe Republic Police the previous year and then started running at the ZRP championship where I broke the record.
“For the whole of 1992, I was unbeaten in the 800m competitions,” he said.
During those days, Nyoni said competitions like the Rothmans, the Dairibord the inter-provincial and the Chamber of Mine Games were just a part of their daily recipe.
In 1993 Nyoni anchored the Harare Province team when he convincingly won the ZRP inter-provincial 1 600m medley relay at Trojan Stadium as he partnered Temba Mlilo, Joseph Gumbo and Peter Hove. He easily established himself as a brilliant runner at the ZRP club that also had Thabani Gonye, then the fastest policeman in the world, who won a gold medal in the sprints at the police games in Washington.
“At the Law Enforcements Games, I ran in my favourite event which was the 800m and I won gold before I took another gold in the 1 500m and then the 5000m.
“I got gold medals from three events at it was just awesome for me. These games were my first international competitions and doing so well was a great motivation,” says Nyoni.
He teamed up with Stanley Nyanyi, Christian Thomas and Golden Kembo for the 4x100m and 4x400m Zimbabwe team at the Games.
“The other athletes were more of sprinters but I went into the relay and managed to return home with five gold medals,” recalls Nyoni.
Because of his fine showing, Nyoni was able to win a scholarship to Australia but his switch from the ZRP Athletics Club was not so rosy.
“In 1993, I got a scholarship with an Australian Club Sceg Legs which was in New South Wales.”
His employers were reluctant to let him go for the six-month stint but he was defiant and did not want the once-in-a-lifetime chance slip through his hands.
“In Australia, I was exposed to some of the best training facilities and in 1994, I became champion in the 800m at the inter-states.
“I also took part in the 4×800 relay team from New South Wales at the all states competitions,” he said.
In 1995, Nyoni added another feather to his cap when he won the 800m event at the Canberra championships.
“That was the first time I raced under floodlights and I think I raced against some Kenyans.”
But Nyoni met his match as he buckled under a lot of expectations in Harare at the All-Africa Games.
“I came sixth, it was not good,” he said.
“I remember guys like Musa Gwanzura, Brian Katso, Moses Benja and the (Artwell) Mandaza’s sons. Gayle Dube was also at her peak as she and Gerber were the top female sprinters in Zimbabwe during that decade.”
Nyoni was injured during the Southern Region Championships at the UZ in 1996 and took a break from the sport.
“During my stay in Australia, I was used to training at the tartan track and when I returned home, I got injured and could not race again. I tried to return to competitions in 2002 and that was after a very long absence but the injury still affected me psychologically and at the same time age was taking its toll.
“I was never the same again and had to leave to turn my efforts at coaching,” he said.
During his stay Down Under, Nyoni attended coaching seminars and is a holder of the Level Two IAAF certificate. I did some of the courses while in Australia and at St Patrick in Kenya and after I left the track I began coaching at schools in Matabeleland South.
“I worked with schools and tertiary colleges but there were no clubs in the province until Lisimati came along with partners and we formed LM Academy which is one of the vibrant clubs in the area.
“I have realised that athletes in the rural areas are marginalised and I have a personal experience as I attended Mzingwane High.
“After school in 1988, there was nothing more for me but I was lucky that I came to Harare and joined the ZRP and that was when I further developed.
“Now I am trying to bridge this gap between school.