malvernmugadzikwa
THE Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games are now a little less than 90 days away.
These quadrennial sporting festivals are quite the feast for those who follow sports.
We hear that there would be more than 329 events in 32 sporting disciplines in Paris, which makes for an enjoyable sporting buffet.
Four other disciplines — skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing and breaking (whatever that is) — have also reportedly been added.
What is, however, worrying for Bra Shakes is the thin list of participants that will likely show up for the Games. By last week, three athletes had qualified: Stephen Cox (a rower), Isaac Mpofu (marathon runner) and Tapiwanashe Makarawu (sprinter).
In fact, the 23-year-old becomes the latest Zimbabwean to make the grade after winning the 200-metre heats at the Corky Crofoot Invitational Inter-College meet in the United States with a time of 19.93 seconds, which is well within the Olympic qualifying range.
So, barring a miracle, it means the Zimbabwean contingent to the Games, which are pencilled in for July 26 to August 11, will likely have more officials than athletes, which is slowly becoming the norm.
This is more than proof of how we all have conspired to let sport, particularly athletics, die. With more investment and structured programmes in athletics, we are likely to make an impression on the global stage and open up opportunities for athletes who are currently falling through the cracks.
Sadly, we are now being eclipsed by Botswana, which will be proudly parading the supremely talented Letsile Tebogo, who gave the African continent its first-ever world medal in the men’s 100-metre dash at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in August last year.
He won the silver medal and added to his tally by clinching bronze in the 200-metre sprint.
On his way to the podium, he clocked 9.88 seconds in the 100-metre dash — 0.30 seconds faster than Usain Bolt’s 2009 world record — to finish second behind US’ Noah Lyles.
This is just incredible.
This performance was no fluke either.
In 2022, when he was only 18, he became only the second runner in history to break the 10-second barrier in the 100-metre race before the age of 20.
A few months before that, he had broken the 20-second barrier in the 200-metre race.
And the gifted athlete, who will be turning 21 in June, is aiming for the stars, as he is targeting to become the first African to win Olympic gold in the top speed events.
No doubt, we will all be rooting for him in Paris. But there was a time when Africa also looked up to Zimbabwe, especially when Kirsty Coventry was still doing her thing in the pool.
Since debuting at the Olympics in 2000, Coventry went on to win seven medals at five different Olympic Games, breaking seven world records in the process.
After being crowned champion twice, she reportedly holds the distinction of winning “more individual Olympic medals than any female swimmer in history”.
As a country, we have a lot of talent that is waiting to be discovered.
We seem to be disproportionately obsessed with academics and fail to recognise that sport is also a worthy and rewarding pursuit.
And companies need not only invest in soccer, but other sports as well.
There was a time when mining companies poured significant money in athletics.
The Chamber of Mines athletics meet in particular helped to unearth a lot of talent, such as Artwell Mandaza from Mhangura, who was named the greatest Zimbabwean athlete of the last century.
There were other athletes like Mike Fokorani.
At the time, participants were drawn from places such as Ashanti, Trojan, Madziwa, Jumbo, Hwange, Arcturus, the Zimasco family, Shabanie Mine, Gaths Mine, Blanket Mine, How Mine, Mimosa, Zimplats, Redwing Mine in Penhalonga, Dalny and Ziscosteel.
Well, it will be heartening if the current resurgence in the mining sector results in a conscious effort to revive these Games.
Miners have to begin mining talent again.
We need to take sport as a business and talent as a vehicle to sustenance and prosperity.
Until next time.
Peace!
Yours Sincerely,
Bra Shakes.
Online Reporter