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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
UNITED States of America based Zimbabwean athlete, Bradley Makuvire, who races for the Southeastern Louisiana qualified for the national championship as he finished 11th at the 2021 NCAA Division I South Central Regional 10K Cross Country Race at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course in Waco on Friday.
Makuvire, a second-year student at the South-Eastern Louisiana University impressed the SLU cross country coach Corey Mistretta who remarked “I cannot be prouder of Bradley. His commitment to the program and his training is a model for those who want to be successful. He deserves this honor and is incredibly excited about competing against the best in the country next week.”
The 23-year-old Makuvire, from Zvishavane adds to his near impeccable restart in 2021 as he finished near the top 10 in a field of 187 runners. Makuvire had won all four races he had competed in this year prior to Friday.
“It was really fun racing against such good competition today. Next week at Nationals will be even tougher so I have to get some good rest this week. I am looking forward to racing against the best in the country, it will definitely be a guts race,’’ Makuvire said.
Makuvire will go on to compete in the NCAA Division I National Championship 10k race in Saturday in Tallahassee, Florida hosted by Florida State.
Another Zimbabwean athlete, Faith Nyathi won the women’s 5km race at the National Junior College Athletic Association Cross Country Championships held at the Council Farms in Milledgeville, Georgia on Saturday. Nyathi of El Paso Community College (Texas) raced away to the individual title in 17:08.8.
Makuvire and Nyathi are on athletics scholarships provided to them by the Costa Takawira Mangwende Foundation scholarship programme initiated in 2015 by former sportsperson, Costa Takawira who is working in partnership with another USA based ex-athlete, Philemon Hanneck to secure scholarships for Zimbabwean athletes to the US where they get access to better facilities and advanced coaching. Kevin Chiku is the other scholarship recipient and he also in the USA.
More athletes are heading to the US at the end of this year when Hanneck comes to Zimbabwe to fetch them. Takawira is convinced that the three athletes already in the US have what it takes to represent Zimbabwe at the Olympics as well as World Athletics Championships in future. – @Mdawini_29
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo