Makusha soars into final

at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
The 24-year-old United States-based athlete will be among 12 long jumpers who pulled through to today’s final after making the grade during yesterday’s qualification rounds.
Yesterday saw a total of 36 men being put into two groups – Group A and B – of 18 each for the men’s long jump qualification rounds.
Makusha was placed in Group B where he emerged with one of the best leaps of the day – 8.11 metres – to book his place among the 12 finalists for today’s long jump final.
Each athlete was given three attempts in yesterday’s long jump qualifiers and Makusha recorded 8,11m in his third and final attempt after having posted 8.05m and 7.83m in his first two jumps.
In fact, five athletes qualified for today’s final from Group B.
The other long jumpers who joined Makusha in the final from Group B are Germany’s Sebastian Bayer (8.11m), Macos Chuva of Portugal (8.10m), American Will Claye (8.09) and South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga (8.04m). In today’s final, they will be joined by seven other athletes – Dwight Phillips of the United States (8.32m), Australia’s Mitchell Watt (8.15m), Christian Reif of Germany (8.13m), Russian Aleksandr Menkov (8.07m), Yahya Berrabah of Morocco (8.05m), Korea’s Deokhyeon Kim (8.02m) and Briton Christopher Tomlinson (8.02) – who all qualified from Group A.
Phillips leap of 8.32m, recorded in his first and only attempt, was his season’s best and the best jump of the day followed by Watt (8.15m), Reif (8.13m) and then Makusha and Bayer, who both leapt 8.11m.
Makusha also stole the thunder from South Africa’s top men’s long jumper Godfrey Khotso Mokoena who failed to qualify for the final from Group A in which his best jump of the day was 8.00m.
Makusha’s jump of 8.11m was, however, outside his best record of the year – 8.40m – recorded at the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Championships in the United States in June.
But it’s no secret that the young athlete, who was unearthed at Mandedza High School at Seke near Chitungwiza in Zimbabwe, is looking forward to today’s final where he will be out to become the first Zimbabwean to win a medal of any colour at the World Athletics Championships.
Makusha will also be out to redeem himself in today’s men’s long jump final after failing to qualify for track’s 100m final earlier this week.
The “Mandedza Express” only managed to reach the semi-finals of the men’s 100m event where he finished fifth in his heat in 10.27 seconds.
Another top United States-based Zimbabwean sprinter Gabriel Mvumvure will also be in action today, running in the qualifying heats of the men’s 200m event. Mvumvure will also be out to make amends in this event after his disappointing performance in the 100m in which he fell by the wayside in the qualifying heats last Sunday.
Jamaican sprint superstar Usain Bolt will also be competing in this morning’s 200m qualifying heats.
Bolt will be seeking redemption on the track after a false start cost him his 100m crown as he gears up for his defence of the 200m knowing failure is not an option. Bolt looks certain to retain his world 200m crown and banish the demons of his 100m misery but his rivals will gain confidence from the knowledge he is human after all.