Online Reporter
Mthabisi Tshuma, [email protected]
Growing up in Phumulani Mangubo village in Bulilima district, 17-year-old Shamiso Chitopo knew only football and netball. Javelin was not even a word she had heard until Form 2.
With no coach, no equipment and little support for athletics in rural schools, she started training with a sharpened stick on open ground behind her home.
Her journey has not been easy. Raised by her grandmother after her mother left at a tender age, Chitopo found refuge and purpose in sport.
Today, the Form 4 student at Himagu Secondary School is a national champion and a role model to peers across Matabeleland South. She recently won gold in the Under-18 girls javelin at the NASH National Competitions in Harare, capping a rapid rise from district to provincial to national level.
Now she is preparing for her biggest test yet — potential selection for an international junior javelin camp overseas later this year.
Chitopo says her first love was whatever sport was available.
“When I started Form 1, I started playing netball, which was the only sport we girls were accustomed to, either at home or at primary school,” she said.
“From a tender age I have always been a sports person. By Form 1 I was even able to land a spot in the netball squad for our village in Phumulani Mangubo. Sport lives in me.
“Going to schools’ sports programmes, I was introduced to activities like discus, handball and javelin.”
This year she entered javelin for the first time at district level at Sikhathini High School in Bulilima and finished second.
She then won the provincial title at Manama High School before claiming the national crown in Harare.
Chitopo said her goal now is to make her village and the country proud on the international stage.
“I am supposed to take part in competitions to be held in Mauritius, and I hope that it becomes a success,” she said.
“I want to be a shining light to the young girls from the rural villages that through determination and hard work there is nothing that can stop you from fulfilling your dreams.”
Her coach and teachers at Himagu describe her as disciplined and hard-working, qualities they say helped her adapt quickly to a technical event despite starting late and with limited resources.
Athletics officials say Chitopo’s success highlights the untapped talent in rural schools, where football and netball often dominate due to lack of equipment and coaching for track and field events.
With the right support, they believe more athletes like Chitopo can emerge and compete internationally.
For now, the girl who once threw a sharpened stick in her backyard is training hard with proper javelins, eyeing Mauritius and beyond — proof that talent, once given a chance, can fly far beyond the fields of Bulilima.
