Athletics changed my life – Chinyoka

coming long-distance runner Jonathan Chinyoka it is a profession that has changed his life.
Growing up in Gutu, Masvingo, Chinyoka just a passion for sport and used to be involved in several disciplines.
But he later realised that he had the potential to do better in athletics and decided to concentrate more on that.
He started running in 2004 when he was 14 years old and he says that’s when he realised he had potential.
“I started running in 2004 at Mushayavanhu High School and I realised that I had the potential to reach greater heights as an athlete.
“Before that I used to be involved in number of sports.
“When I was doing my primary education at Shumbayarehwa in Gutu I used to play soccer as a striker and I thought I would become a footballer.
“I also played tennis and chess, I just loved to be involved in sports.
“However, in 2004 I took part in the Gutu half marathon and that is when I first realised that I can run very well,” said Chinyoka.
After competing in the Gutu half marathon, Chinyoka took a break in 2005 and returned to the track in 2006 and won the event.
In 2007 he defended his title.
In the same year he won the Morris Depot 8km cross-country and was selected to represent the country in the Southern Region cross-country staged in Malawi.
He finished fifth.
“The cross-country in Malawi was my first international event.
“After the race in Malawi I went to Lesotho and won a gold and silver medal in the 1 500m and 3 000m events respectively,” Chinyoka said.
Chinyoka went on to win at a 15km race in Botswana and a 21km race in South Africa.
In 2010 he won the Africa University 21km marathon and the University of Zimbabwe 10km race before winning the Harare Athletics Club 21km race last year.
Chinyoka said it took a lot of courage for him to pursue athletics as his family was against the idea and wanted him to focus on his studies.
“At first people did not take me seriously, my mother and grandmother did not want me to compete, they discouraged me from competing.
“But I could see that I had a future in athletics especially when I saw the achievements by people like Collen Makaza, Kelvin Pangiso and Gilbert Mutandiro and it kept me going.
“They also encouraged me and helped me in my early days as an athlete.
“My family later realised that athletics could change my life because when I competed in some races, I would get something to bring home and paid my school fees and they started to appreciate it.
“But it took them time to really understand especially considering that it was in the rural areas, it was not easy to make a breakthrough,” added Chinyoka.
However, the athlete said there was need to have more competitions locally and promote local athletes if the sport is to grow.
“Here in Zimbabwe there is less competition, we have the talent but we do not have facilities to use for our training and there are no sponsors.
“We have few races and that is a setback because we spent most of the time doing nothing if we do not participate in competition held in other countries.
“With the financial problems we face it is difficult for most of the upcoming athletes to pursue athletics because one has to make a living out of it and some end up leaving the sport to look for other options,” said Chinyoka.
He was born in Kwekwe on June 24 1990 and grew up in Gutu. His dream is to represent Zimbabwe in the Olympic Games.