Makusha on fire in US

Makusha on fire in US
By Collin Matiza
STAR Zimbabwean long jumper Ngonidzashe Makusha is on fire in the United States.
According to reports from the United States, Makusha, a 2008 Olympian, claimed gold in the long jump event with a nation’s-best distance of 8.15 metres during the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championships in Virginia at the weekend.
Brian Chibudu, a former Zimbabwean athlete who is now competing under the Canadian flag, grabbed the silver medal in this event.
Both Makusha and Chibudu are on athletics scholarships at Florida State University and are part of the university’s track and field team which is a formidable force in collegiate competitions in the United States.
The two were part of Florida State University’s men’s and women’s indoor track teams which took part in day two of the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Championships on Friday night on the campus of Virginia Tech at Blacksburg in Virginia.
Unsurprisingly, Kim Williams also came out on top for the FSU in the women’s long jump.
Her distance of 6.55m is the second-longest in the United States. Her teammate Amy Harris also took bronze in the event with a national qualifying mark of 6.43m.
In the men’s 60m, Maurice Mitchell finished first by posting a time of 6.61 that is good enough for fourth-best in that country this year.
Kemar Hyman came in fourth with a qualifying time of 6.65.
Hyman also qualified in the 200m with an eighth-place finish on a time of 21.46.
Like Hyman, Teona Rodgers qualified in two different events. Rodgers earned a qualifying time of 8.36 in the 60 and then did the same in the 200 with a third-place finish.
In the men’s 5000m, Mike Fout’s qualifying time of 14:09.15 helped him finish third.
But it was Zimbabwe’s Makusha who stole the limelight from his fellow FSU athletes with his outstanding performance in the long jump event on Friday.
Makusha, who was unearthed at Mandedza High School at Seke in Zimbabwe, was part of the Zimbabwe Olympic Games team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.
At the Beijing Games, where he was making his debut appearance at the world’s biggest sporting showcase, Makusha missed a bronze medal by one centimetre as he came fourth in the men’s long jump event.
And after his near miss in Beijing, the 22-year-old vowed to return for the next Olympics in London in 2012 with a “vengeance”, as he would like to become the first Zimbabwean athlete to win a medal for the country in track and field events at the Olympics.
Before competing in London in 2012, Makusha has also indicated that he would like to represent the country at this year’s All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, in September.
And if his recent performance in Virginia is anything to go by, Makusha is one of Zimbabwe’s brightest medal prospects at both the 2011 All-Africa Games and the 2012 London Olympic Games.