Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FORMER athletes are returning to the track, not to compete, but to give back to the sport that shaped their lives and fortunes.
For Zimbabwean athletics, this could signal a long-awaited turning point.
The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) has long been searching for a formula to produce athletes who produce podium performances at global events.
That search has now led them back to familiar faces, men who once flew the flag at the Olympics, World Championships, African Games and continental meets.
Now based in the United States, Brian Dzingai, Kenneth Harnden, Gabriel Mvumvure and Lewis Banda have all agreed to help the next generation chase the success they once pursued.
Their collective experience is rare.
Dzingai was a finalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Harnden’s men’s 400m hurdles record still stands.
Banda, part of the 4x400m gold medal-winning team at the 2004 African Championships, now works as a physiotherapist.
Mvumvure, once a fiery 100m and 200m sprinter, is now in coaching. Together, their blend of technical knowledge and personal experiences at elite competitions gives Zimbabwean athletics something it has often lacked — continuity.
NAAZ president Tendayi Tagara says this partnership is no accident. With most of the country’s leading sprinters studying and competing in the US, he believes it makes sense to let those who have been through the journey lead the way.
“If you look at it, most of our athletes, as they have gone on to study in America, have taken up coaching,” Tagara said.
“We have Ken Harnden, Gabriel Mvumvure, we also have athletes who are joining coaching . . . That has helped our athletes in terms of getting scholarships because of the Zimbabwean coaches who are in the universities. That is one of our advantages.”
At the Paris 2024 Olympics, sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu both reached the finals.
Last month, Zimbabwe sent eight athletes to the World Championships in Tokyo, five of them track and field competitors based in the US.
Makarawu placed seventh in the 200m final.
Charamba pushed through to the semi-finals.
Such performances hint at a revival, but the ambitions stretch further.
NAAZ wants to build a relay team capable of qualifying for the World Relays in Botswana next year and carry that momentum through to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“We have agreed with Brian to be overall in charge of the process. We want them to manage the team for the relays up to the 2028 Olympics,” Tagara explained.
“We want them to manage the team to the World Champs in 2027 in Beijing. We have given the whole team to those guys. However, we have not stopped the home-grown solution, where we are saying we still want to train in Zimbabwe, compete in Zimbabwe with our neighbouring countries. If there are any outstanding athletes, then they will join those athletes in America.” For the athletes, the arrangement helps them to strike what ordinarily could be a difficult balance.
Life in the US means adjusting to new cultures, keeping up with demanding university schedules and meeting scholarship requirements, all while competing at the highest level.
With guidance from fellow Zimbabweans who know both the system and the pressure, the load becomes lighter.
It also solves another challenge — facilities.
Back home, the lack of world-class infrastructure has long held athletes back.
In the US, everything is at their disposal: quality coaches, nutritionists, sports science and competitive environments. As Tagara put it, “In America, they have got the best coaches, the best facilities, nutritionists — everything is perfect in America. What is needed is just moving one athlete from one state to another for competition to qualify for the relays. We have more than 10 athletes who are running very good times in America, and they can be in the relay team and qualify for Botswana.”
The challenge now rests on resources.
NAAZ, together with the Sports and Recreation Commission, must find ways to support travel, training camps and the coordination needed to turn promise into results.
Phakamile Lisimati, NAAZ’s director of coaching, talent identification and development, works closely with the US-based team.
He believes the approach can change the country’s fortunes.
“We are still pushing and focusing on increasing the number of our athletes going to the World Championships, going to major championships and, at the same time, trying to increase our chances and opportunities to pick up a medal at these competitions,” Lisimati said.
“Technically, this is a very good idea. It helps our athletes feel comfortable around their personal coaches who are also Zimbabweans, travelling with them to games, staying with them and working with them in their day-to-day training and life. It actually builds confidence for athletes to perform and it also gives them that relaxing atmosphere and everything becomes normal.”
The vision is long-term, but already, confidence is building.
The door remains open to anyone willing to contribute, whether based in Zimbabwe or abroad.
For athletes, the knowledge that they are not alone on this journey, and that the men who once stood where they now stand are guiding them, may prove the difference between competing and winning.
The story of Zimbabwean athletics has often been one of near misses and flashes of brilliance dimmed by structural problems.
Now, with legends coming back to lift the new generation, the hope is that the cycle can be broken.
From Harnden’s enduring record to Dzingai’s Olympic final, from Banda’s gold medal to Mvumvure’s fiery sprints, their history is rich.
What comes next, they believe, could even be richer.
