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ZIMBABWE is banking on hurdler Ashley Miller and triple jumper Chengetai Mapaya to secure last minute tickets to the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan next month.
National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) president Tendai Tagara said the pair could qualify through world rankings, which are based on performances from the 2025 season.
World Athletics will take top finishers from last year’s Paris Olympics, with the remaining slots filled through this year’s rankings.
“We hope Ashley Miller and Mapaya can qualify by ranking. Once they qualify they will head straight to Japan from the US,” Tagara said.
Miller, who won bronze at the 2024 African Championships, is ranked 40th in the world with her season’s best 55.09 seconds. Mapaya, with a leap of 17.15m, is 15th in the world, just 65cm behind the leading effort of 17.80m from Italy’s Andy Hernandez.
If they make it, they will join a growing Zimbabwean team that already includes 200m runners Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu, marathoners Tendai Zimuto and Isaac Mpofu, and 400m sprinter Vimbai Maisvoreva.
Makarawu has set the standard this year with a 19.84 second run that doubled as the national record, placing him eighth in the world.
Charamba follows closely with 19.92 seconds. Both also hold the year’s fastest indoor 200m time of 20.13 seconds. Their exploits at the Paris Olympics, where they both reached the 200m final, marked a historic first for Zimbabwe.
Tagara confirmed that Mpofu and Zimuto are already in camp in Harare preparing for the marathon, while the sprinters continue working with their professional coaches and managers.
“The 200m athletes are now professionals with their own teams. As a camp, the managers and athlete usually decide on programmes that include travel and training ahead of major events,” he said.
Beyond preparations, NAAZ continues to work on securing financial support for the squad.
“We have had a memorandum of understanding with Asics since 2019 and it’s for 10 years. We are looking for sponsorship for the athletes so that they travel with support staff, we are grateful to the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee for ticket sponsorship. We are looking for sponsorship for athletes’ allowances, so far preparations are going well. Marathon runners have been in camp since May. We have even appealed to the government through the Ministry of Sport,” Tagara said.
