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Ellina Mhlanga-Senior Sports Reporter
CONFIDENCE and self-belief are some of the lessons Tapiwanashe Makarawu will carry with him when the Zimbabwean sprinter takes his bow at the Olympic Games in July.
The United-States-based sprinter is one of the five athletes that have so far qualified for the Games to be officially opened on July 26 and will run up until August 11 in Paris, France.
Makarawu made his maiden appearance at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary last year.
Following his participation at the championships, the United States-based athlete shifted his focus to the Olympic Games and did not disappoint after securing his place in the 200m after posting a time of 19.93 seconds last month.
The qualifying time is 20.16 seconds for men. For Makarawu, his participation at the World Championships, was a learning curve and there are some important lessons he picked from the meet that he hopes will make a difference for him in Paris.
“When one competes at that world level, a lot has to be learnt. Being confident, believing in yourself, having fun, enjoying the moment, not worrying about what’s to come is something that I learnt at the Budapest World Championships,” said Makarawu.
“At the Olympics, to be honest, I am going to be ready for them and give them my best shot. I can’t promise anything as of now but I am just going to leave everything in God’s hands and he will do the rest.
“I will do my part as well,” he said.
His time of 19.93 seconds also saw him breaking the previous national record of 20.12 seconds set by Brian Dzingai in 2004. However, he is not letting his recent achievement affect his focus, which is now to give his best at the Olympics.
“Well, I broke the record last year when I ran 20.10 and the record was 20.12, but no one considered it because I had just beat it with a small margin.
“I did it again this year, but with a bigger margin. I am excited to run the national record but not that excited, I still have work to do,” said Makarawu.
Makarawu’s qualifying time was one of the best times in 200m according to the World Athletics rankings and is at the moment ranked fifth on the list.
“Running one of the top times in the world is the biggest motivation one can get. It shows that we are heading towards something great.
“Not to put pressure on myself, but it’s something that urges me to keep working because anything is possible, only if you believe,” he said.
His build-up to qualification was not an easy one as he had to deal with injuries during the season.
“Well, the journey to qualifying was for sure loaded with ups and downs, but I had my faith in God, trusted the process, and being disciplined all the time.
“I came across injuries during the season and l lost hope. However, as the season progressed, I ran good times, real close to the qualifying standards, and I became confident in myself again.
“Yes of course I was worried of failing to qualify because many people were looking up to me to qualify,” said Makarawu.
The promising sprinter was always one of the hopefuls for the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe to make the grade for the Olympics.
“Of course I was happy to qualify, after finishing the race, I was emotional and I just knelt down and gave thanks to God.
“Running at the Olympics is every athlete’s dream no matter which sport they do. So, it was so important for me to qualify. Besides, representing my country at that kind of stage brings pride.”
Online Reporter