Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
MORE than two decades after living his Olympic dream as a marathon runner, Abel Chimukoko is preparing for another journey to the world’s biggest sporting stage.
This time he will not be chasing the finish line. Instead, he will lead Team Zimbabwe to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games as chef de mission, making sure the country’s athletes have everything they need to perform at their best. Twenty-two years ago he was among the 12 Zimbabwean athletes who qualified for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in Greece, earning his place alongside more than 100 marathon runners from around the world.
He finished 48th among the 81 athletes who completed the gruelling race. The result remains one of the proudest moments of his career.
“I was so excited that I finally made it, because going to the Olympic Games, it’s like you will be competing at the highest level, or, should I say, at the most peak, or the last stage of athletics, or last stage of sport,” said Chimukoko.
“So, for me, I was so excited and I was full of joy.
“Whatever came and so on, even though I got problems during the race, but I told myself, under whatever circumstances, I have to finish the race because the journey I went through, doing the qualifications, it was so hectic.
“Going to the Olympics, for me, it was something, even up to now, it’s always ringing in my mind. That’s why you hear that there is no former Olympian, once an Olympian always an Olympian.”
Those memories now shape how he approaches his biggest assignment since Athens.
“It’s a great honour to me and other Olympians,” he said. “An Olympian leading other Olympians.
“I ran marathon at Athens 2004 and I know how it feels like to walk in the Games Village putting on Zimbabwean colours.
“That experience will remain in you. To be appointed the CDM for LA28 is an opportunity to serve from the other side of the line.”
As chef de mission, Chimukoko will oversee the logistical, operational and administrative preparations for Team Zimbabwe, ensuring the country’s athletes are fully supported throughout the road to Los Angeles and during the Games themselves.
“I want to make sure our athletes in LA get the support, discipline and conducive environment for them to perform well,” he said. “I easily understand the needs of athletes.”
That understanding comes from experience and retirement from competition never meant leaving the Olympic movement.
Chimukoko now serves as president of the Zimbabwe Olympians Association and sits on the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee board, where he has also chaired several commissions focusing on athletes, Olympic values and sustainability. His work has also taken him to international platforms through the International Olympic Committee, Sports Integrity Symposium and World Anti-Doping Agency forums.
He also serves as director of sport for the Zimbabwe Republic Police, where he has led Zimbabwean delegations to several regional competitions. He believes those experiences have prepared him for the responsibility ahead.
The road to Los Angeles has already begun, with qualification windows opening across several sporting codes.
For Chimukoko, the next Olympic Games will look very different from Athens.
There will be no race number pinned to his vest and no finish line waiting at the end of 42 kilometres.
It is another Olympic journey. Only this time, Chimukoko will be leading others towards the finish line he once chased himself.
