Athletes clock world-leading times

Lovemore Dube

Zimpapers Sports Hub

ZIMBABWE’S athletics scene has exploded into the 2025 outdoor season with thrilling performances that have left the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe’s director of coaching, Phakamile Lisimati, glowing with pride and optimism.

In an interview from Gwanda on Tuesday, Lisimati said he was confident that several local athletes are on track to qualify for the World Athletics Championships set for Tokyo, Japan.

“There have been a number of good performances, quite impressive performances from our athletes,” said Lisimati.

Sprint sensation Vimbai Maisvoreva clocked an electrifying 50.25 seconds in the 400m over the weekend, currently the eighth-fastest time in the world this year. The leading time of 48.67 seconds was set by Brunei’s Salwa Eid Nasar on April 5.

Maisvoreva’s time is inside the World Championships qualifying mark of 50.75 seconds.

“I am just excited Vimbai has qualified for the World Championships,” Lisimati said, brimming with hope.

Maisvoreva, who has steadily improved year after year, could become Zimbabwe’s first woman to break the 50-second barrier in the 400m. With the national collegiate finals a month away, more personal bests may yet come.

Meanwhile, Makanakaishe Charamba stunned the athletics world with a world-leading time of 19.99 seconds in the 200m, recorded in the United States on April 18.

“I’m very happy with Charamba too. He has the world lead in the 200m — that’s big for our athletics,” said Lisimati. “We are closely monitoring our young sprinters.”

Charamba’s closest challenger, Sinesipho Dambile of South Africa, clocked 20.01 seconds, followed by Liberia’s Joseph Fahrobullah (20.07) and South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza (20.08).

Tapiwanashe Makarawu’s indoor time of 20.13 seconds places him ninth globally and fifth among African sprinters, while Denzel Siamusilela is ranked 113th with 20.67 seconds.

Zimbabwe’s women’s 4x100m relay squad also made a statement, recording a time of 45.97 seconds — third-fastest in Africa behind Liberia (43.97) and Botswana (44.96).

In the 100m sprint, David Nyamufarira is ranked 10th in the world after running 10.02 seconds. He needs to trim just 0.02 seconds to book a place at the Tokyo Championships.

Long jumper Tafadzwa Chikomba has the 26th best jump of the season with 8.06m. He’s chasing the qualifying mark of 8.27m but could sneak into the Championships by staying in the world’s top 32.

Triple jumper Chengetai Mapaya, who earned silver at the African Championships in Douala, has posted 16.83m — good enough for 19th in the world but below the qualifying mark of 17.22m.

Meanwhile, 400m specialist Denis Hove ranks 58th in the world with a time of 45.50 seconds. A cut of just half a second could see him qualify, or he could make the trip to Japan if the 4x400m team finishes among the top 14 at the World Relays in China next month.

With several stars emerging, Zimbabwe’s reputation as a potential sprints powerhouse is starting to feel real.