Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
WATCHING his boys winning the 4x400m relay in Accra, Ghana was a surreal experience for National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara.
There was even a hint of nostalgia for the national athletics boss as it brought sweet memories, rewinding the clock 22 years back to 2004, when he watched a different set of runners accomplish a similar feat in Brazzaville, Congo.
Back then the relay team lined up as Lewis Banda, Talkmore Nyongani, Lloyd Zvasiya and Themba Ncube, representing it, but the stage was the same — the African Senior Athletics Championships.
And Tagara was the national coach.
More than two decades later, Tagara whose administrative profile has gone beyond just NAAZ, watched from his seat in the VVIP tribune at the University of Ghana Stadium as the quartet of Dennis Hove, Leeford Zuze, Gerren Muwishi and Thandazani Ndhlovu emulated the class of 2004 and sprinted their way to 4x400m gold.
“I am so happy to have been the coach in 2004, and then in 2026 I am the president of the federation,’’ Tagara said.
“I am the only president to have done so, moving from a coach to a president and winning this event twice, as a coach and as president.
“I am proud of that achievement,” said Tagara.
Tagara added that his athletics career has been a long but fulfilling journey.
“It has been a very long journey. Remember, I coached this team until 2012, when I became a president.
“You know when you are a coach, and in administration, you understand the sweat of the coach and the athlete.
“You understand because you have been in the trenches, as a coach and as an athlete. I was a long-distance runner, so I understand what it is to rise to the occasion.
“It has taken us 22 years to get another gold medal after Congo Brazzaville,” Tagara said.
“Remember we are 54 countries, and there are only three medals. Getting that medal means a lot of sweat, so we are happy that we have risen again to the occasion to win this event,” he said.
It was a deserved victory for a team that has been working for some time to try and get to the top.
Going into the African Championships, most of the 4x400m team members had posted good times with Zuze and Ndhlovu running sub-45 in their individual 400m events last month in Botswana.
Zuze ran 44.91 seconds at the Road-To-Botswana Golden Grand Prix while Ndhlovu clocked 44.71 seconds at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix.
Hove achieved the same feat when running 44.88 seconds in the semi-final heats at the African Championships in Ghana.
He went on to win silver with a time of 44.92 seconds.
And with these individual performances, it appears the team was already set for success.
The NAAZ president believes they are beginning to reap the rewards of their home-grown talent, with the 4x400m relay team made up of the local-based athletes.
He is also content with Team Zimbabwe’s performance in Ghana as they improved from two medals at the 2024 edition to four this year.
In 2024 their medals came from sprinter Tapiwanashe Makarawu in the 200m event and triple jumper Chengetayi Mapaya.
“There was great improvement in the team’s performance compared to the last edition of the Africa Senior Championship.
“Last time we had silver medals but now they improved to (also get) a gold medal. That is a great improvement in terms of performance for the team.
“Generally, this time around we took a very strong team. We took quality to the Africa Senior Championship.
“Besides quality, we also took athletes whom we are targeting for the future, for the Olympics.”
The team also included junior athlete Anesu Nyahuma, who competed in the women’s 400m, and Derick Matutu, who just graduated from the juniors.
