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Tapiwanashe Makarawu ran 14.96 seconds in Florida and that got people talking.
Not just about him.
About what is building.
Across meets in the US and around the region, Zimbabwean athletes have opened the season with times that are starting to add up. Qualifying marks are coming, records are being pushed, and for the first time in a while, there is more than one name in the conversation.
That is where this shifts.
It is no longer about one or two stand-out performances. It is about how much of this can be carried into a team, and how quickly that can happen with the African Senior Championships in Ghana coming up next month.
There is depth starting to show.
National coach Phakamile Lisimati is seeing it, but he is keeping his feet on the ground.
“It is pleasing to see that our athletes abroad have had a good start to the 2026 season by posting very good times at the beginning. It is the kind of news one needs with the Ghana Senior African Track and Field Championships on sight,” he said.
Makarawu’s run set the tone.
He chased home Olympic silver medallist Kishane Thompson and did it with control.
It confirmed what has been building around Zimbabwe’s sprinting.
Others are stepping in as well.
Ashley Miller has gone through her own barrier, clocking a national record 13.15 seconds in the 100m hurdles, inside the qualifying standard. Vimbai Maisvoreva has dipped well below the mark in the 400m. The men’s 4x400m relay has also put up a time that keeps them in the mix.
It is starting to spread.
In the men’s 100m, several athletes are closing in on the qualifying line. In the 200m and 400m, there are already multiple names inside or pushing close. In the field, Tafadzwa Chikomba’s 8.15m has him among the best on the continent this year, while Chengetai Mapaya remains right up there in the triple jump.
That gives Zimbabwe something it has not had in a while.
Options.
“This is very pleasing in that we have a good number of athletes who have already qualified. We have the largest number of athletes who have qualified for the African Senior Championships. We may send the largest team in a long while,” said Lisimati.
That changes the focus.
It is not about isolated results anymore. It is about how many of them can hold, how the relay teams come together, and whether this group can stay together long enough to compete properly.
Ghana will show where things stand.
It will test the times, the combinations, and how far this depth can go when it matters.
Beyond that, the bigger picture is already in view.
“The ultimate goal for now is the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. What is good about it is that going for-ward we have a very big pool of athletes with the quality to qualify. We have the challenge to push our-selves further and do better all the time,” he said.
The base is growing.
There are more coaches on the ground, more officials, and better standards at schools level feeding into the senior team.
Now it has to come together.
The times are there, the names are coming through.
What matters now is whether it becomes a team.
