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Ellina Mhlanga–Senior Sports Reporter
LONG-DISTANCE runner Isaac Mpofu is hoping that his performance at the just-ended World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, the United States, will serve as a motivation to other athletes aspiring to compete at the highest level.
Zimbabwe had three athletes at the championships that took place from July 15 to 24.
The best result for Zimbabwe was from Mpofu who finished on position 10 in the men’s marathon in 2 hours 7 minutes 56 seconds, setting a new national record in the process.
He arrived back home on Tuesday.
“I am happy with that result and I am happy with my achievement so far. I want to thank the coaches because everything starts with the groundwork, it’s all about training. So I have been training and I am happy with my achievement.
“I just wish this could be a motivation to other athletes, to know and believe that we can still do it while we are training here in Zimbabwe. Sometimes we say or think that it’s only the Kenyans or Ethiopians, who make it. But we can do it as well, that’s the major reason why I am happy,” said Mpofu.
Mpofu was among the athletes who missed the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games after failing to meet the qualifying time of 2hours 11minutes 30seconds.
It’s the same time that was used for the World Championships and the Bulawayo-based athlete said national camps and having coaches to assist with his training this time around made a huge difference.
He qualified for the World Athletics Championships with a time of 2hours 10minutes 24seconds.
The coaches include Benson Chauke, who is the head of national event coaches for middle and long-distance runners, Collen Makaza and Cephas Pasipamire.
“There was a huge difference.
“It’s different from when you are training alone and on your own because you can get tired and when you are tired you need someone to motivate you to go again. So that’s the difference and you start seeing that your standard improves.
“There is need for regular camps. When you are in camp it’s different from when you are at home because at home there are many challenges. We have families, there are a lot of things that happen and you have to attend to those things. But when you are in camp, you are fully focused on training,” said Mpofu.
Going into the meet, Mpofu set a target of improving his time, having qualified for the World Athletics Championships with a time of 2hours 10minutes 24seconds.
And he managed to attain his goal unlike when he made his maiden appearance at the World Championships in 2019, where he found the going tough.
His performance also means he qualifies for next year’s world meet to be staged in Budapest, Hungary.
For marathon, the qualifying time for the next edition is 2hours 9minutes 40seconds for men and 2hours 28minutes for women.
The qualifying standards continue to get higher and tough. For the just-ended meet, men’s qualifying time was 2hours 11minutes 30seconds and 2hours 29minutes 30seconds.
Mpofu is one of Zimbabwe’s hopefuls to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and he is a beneficiary of the Olympic Solidarity scholarships.
For now, he takes a short break to recover as he has another upcoming assignment soon.
Online Reporter