Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
UNITED States of America based Zimbabwean athlete, Bradley Makuvire continues to shine after he recently won the 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country Championship men’s 8km race in 24:11.44 for Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU).
The 23-year-old Makuvire from Zvishavane has won all four races he’s competed in this year. The second year student at SLU won the Louisiana State University Invitational 6km, the Nicholls Invitational 4-mile and the Watson Invitational 8km culminating with the conference title.
“I have been working very hard this year and I am excited to win this conference championship for Southeastern. Coach O’Callaghan (SLU distance running coach Clayton O’Callaghan) and I are continuing to build our relationship and I’m very excited for his commitment to me and my long range goals. We still have a lot of work to do this season starting with the NCAA Regionals,’’ Makuvire was quoted in the US media.
Makuvire, the newly crowned Southland champion and Southland Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year won the conference athlete of the week award twice and was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week following his win at the Watson Invitational.
SLU cross country head coach Corey Mistretta was full of praise for Makuvire who he said has matured into a national contender.
“Bradley has been an exceptional leader for both squads during this transition period. He has developed into a national level competitor and won every race this season, been named national athlete of the week, and capped the regular season with a dominant victory today. I am extremely proud of what he brings every day, ‘’ Mistretta said.
In his last win, Makuvire outlasted a field of 65, including runner-up finisher Kelvin Kimaiyo of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi who finished in a time of 24:17.51.
Makuvire is now hard at work preparing for Friday’s NCAA Division I Cross Country Regionals in Waco, Texas on the Campus of Baylor University.
The athlete is a beneficiary of 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 USA where they get access to better facilities and advanced coaching. Kevin Chiku and Faith Nyathi are the other scholarship recipients, with the two 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.
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