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Tinashe Kusema
Deputy Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE speedster Ngoni Makusha is not leaving anything to chance in his bid to qualify for this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Having spent a month-long camp at a High Performance Centre in South Africa together with his relay teammates Dickson Kamungeremu, Tatenda Tsumba, Itayi Vambe and Dickson Kapandura – working on their team chemistry and speed, the 25 year-old is looking to move a gear up in his quest.
Only recently, Makusha incorporated the 300-metre dash into his training regime and it has already started paying dividends.
“This year, as opposed to the previous ones, my main focus will be on the Olympics Games, where the first objective will be qualifying,” said Makusha.
“We have a lot of races in South Africa, a few in Botswana in the coming months and then the Senior African Championship in Algeria.
“The Senior Championships are the last qualifying event for the Olympics,” he said.
As it pertains to his own personal training Makusha said “it has been good so far as we have all been working quite hard.
“There are no serious injuries to report, just a few niggles here and there, but overall I’m feeling great and healthy.
“My coach and I recently decided to incorporate the 300-metre race into my training as it helps with my speed endurance,” he said.
The move seems to already have made a meaningful impact on the young speedster’s psyche, after he was invited to the Milton Classic Shootout and broke the South African record there.
“The Milton Classic Shootout is an invitational event and attracted runners from countries like South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
“There, I managed to run a time of 33,03 seconds which broke their national record, and I was really happy with my performance there.
“It will surely to boost my confidence in my 200 and 100 metre races, going forward, as it is signs that I am getting faster and stronger,” he said.
Makusha’s bright start to the year is, however, a far cry from his 2019 season which was characterised by qualification for the World Relay Championships, in Japan, only to get disqualified inthe heats of the event.
“The most memorable part of the 2019 season remains breaking the 4×100m relay national record and qualifying for the world relays.
“It was a surreal moment for both me and the rest our team.
“What happened in Japan was unfortunate, but our starter stepped on the starting line which is illegal and we got disqualified.
“However, we took it as a learning curve, and we have since moved on.
“Now, the main focus will be on the Olympics and making sure we manage to get there,” he said.
Online Reporter