Sundaymail Editor
Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
OF the many sub-plots, twists and turns to come out of the World Relay Championships in Poland last weekend, Makanaka Charamba’s story might just be the most awe-inspiring.
The Polish region of Silesia hosted the event, which was the first time the biennial competition has been held in Europe.
Italy, Germany, Ghana and Denmark men’s teams all booked their places at this year’s Olympics from the World Relays, joining the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, China, France and Netherlands.
In the women’s category, Cuba, Germany, Italy and France qualified, joining the United States of America, Poland, Jamaica, Great Britain, Belgium, Ukraine, Netherlands and Canada.
Sadly, there was no joy for Team Zimbabwe’s Ngoni Makusha, Dickson Kamungeremu, Itayi Vambe, Rodwell Ndlovu and Charamba, as they finished sixth in their heat and failed to make the grade.
Only the top eight teams in each category were guaranteed a spot at the Summer Games.
But, Zimbabwe finished last (sixth) in their heat, clocking 40,54 seconds in the 4X100-metre relay race.
However, with every dark cloud comes a silver lining, and Charamba seems to provide that light in this team.
Making his debut at such a big stage, the 19-year-old could yet be a find for the future.
The Hillcrest College and Kutama alumnus has since described the experience as overwhelming, and one likely to boost his confidence going forward.
“I did not expect to be attending such a big event at this stage in my career, let alone make the grade and represent my country.
“I thought it would take about two or more years before I attend a World Championship event, but by God’s grace I made it,” said Charamba.
While the competition did not go as planned, it taught the young speedster a few valuable lessons.
“I did not expect to make the cut, thinking I was probably going as reserve.
“However, I ended up running the back stretch and I think I am better off for the experience.
“I came back with a couple of lessons from the event; the most important being organisation.
“If we are to go for big competitions, preparation is key. We need training camps that will afford us time to work on team chemistry.
“From an organisational point of view, I think we need to go to these competitions well in advance.
“This will give us time to acclimatise to the different weather conditions of the host nations,” he said.
What makes his story so awe-inspiring is the fact that although he was making his debut on the big athletics stage at 17, only a few years ago he was a rugby player.
“My rugby story started when I was in my last year at junior school (Lewisam Primary).
“One of my friends, Matthew Owuru, invited me to the sport.
“His argument was that I was fast, and would do well at the wing position.
“I still remember scoring a try with the very first touch of the ball, and I was convinced that I could do well in this sport,” Charamba said.
When he went to Kutama High School, he barely played much, as he was a non-travelling reserve for the first couple of years.
A chance encounter with Victor Pekani would change all that.
“My fortunes changed during a routine trip to Harare Sports Club, where I met Victor (Pekani), who was coaching Mbare Academy at the time.
“He had heard about me, invited me to try out and I soon joined the team.
“Things kind of sped up from there, as two weeks into my time with Mbare Academy I received a scholarship to join either Kyle College, Lomagundi or Hillcrest College.
“I chose Hillcrest.”
His size and speed saw the 19-year-old play first-team rugby almost immediately.
The big switch
It was during a routine rugby training session that Charamba then caught the eye of the athletics’ coach, and his journey to Poland began in earnest.
“I ran against this guy, I can’t really remember his name, but he was rumoured to be the fastest guy at the school during a beep test.
“I beat him by something like 0,002 spilt seconds, and that caught the eye of the athletics coach,” he said.
In 2017, he won zonal, district and nationals during his rookie season on the track, making the relay team in the process.
Charamba has since been making waves in the last couple of years, with the 2019 season being his breakthrough year.
He made the relay team in 2017, went to the South Africa for the African Youth Championships in 2018 and the Confederation of School Sports Association of Southern Africa (Cossosa), and won the 100-metre races with a time of 10,88 seconds.
The latter event saw Charamba rated the fastest 100m high school athlete in his age group, which was supposed to lead to bigger and better things.
Sadly, a combination of an untimely injury in the 200m race and school commitments resulted in his dreams going up in smoke.
“I injured my thigh in the 200m race at the Cossasa, and could only muster a silver medal.
“I had been invited to attend the Africa Youth Championships in Algeria but could not because of the injury and then later exams.
“I was also supposed to go for the Youth Olympics, but the meet clashed with school exams again and I had to sit out again,” he said.
Charamba’s misfortune would continue when he failed to make it to the 2019 African Junior Championship slated for Ivory Coast due to a late notice, after which the pandemic hit the world.
During the Covid-19-induced break, Charamba then joined Successful Strides, where he met Kamungeremu, Makusha and Vambe and became part of their relay team.
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