Andrew
Deputy Sports Editor
TWO months after suffering the heartbreak of forfeiting his prize money in South Africa over a technicality, Zimbabwe long-distance king Isaac Mpofu will be hoping to atone for the disappointment with a fine marathon race at the World Athletics Championships, which begin on Friday.
The 33-year-old short- and long-distance runner is one of two Zimbabweans, alongside triple-jumper Chengetayi Mapaya, who have made the cut for the global athletics show-piece.
This year’s championships will be staged in Oregon, US, from July 15 to July 24.
Mpofu, making his second appearance at the global event, should count himself lucky just to make it to Oregon, as his time had to be confirmed via an appeal launched by the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ).
He made his debut at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, where he came 52nd.
In the Durban half-marathon, Mpofu hogged the limelight for the wrong reasons after he was forced to forfeit his R50 000 prize money after flouting competition rules.
He then successfully appealed to have his winning time reinstated, which enabled him to make the grade for the championships. “I know everyone wants to hear about the Durban Marathon and forfeiting that R50 000 prize money, but it happens in sport and I am over it,” said Mpofu.
“I am now a senior in sport and I am old enough to know that anything can happen.
“The trick is being level-headed enough to contain that situation and move on.”
At the 42,2km Durban half-marathon, he romped home in a time of two hours, 10 minutes and four seconds.
However, soon after crossing the finish line, his joy was short-lived as he was told he had been disqualified for failing to display a second licence number on his vest.
According to Athletics South Africa (ASA) rules, participants of the Durban International Marathon have to wear two licence numbers on their person.
Mpofu, however, only had one at the back of his vest.
NAAZ then wrote to ASA in a bid to have his time reinstated as it was within the qualifying standard for the World Championships.
Overall, Mpofu has been a rather good sport about the incident and insisted the prize doesn’t really rank highly on his list of priorities and challenges.
Instead, he believes the reinstated time will help open more doors and lead to bigger purses.
“They say ‘time is money’, and I am just glad they gave me my time back.
“I know I will use that time to get better races and open more doors.
“These races and doors will get me bigger and better prizes than that R50 000,” he said.
With the World Athletics Championships just around the corner, he is feeling pretty relaxed and is in good spirits.
Rather than change his routine, he has been watching what he eats and going about his business without pressure.
“There is no pressure. I go about my business as usual, hope to go to the US injury-free and aim to perform to the best of my abilities.”
Mpofu revealed that he was setting himself realistic targets after his maiden experience in Qatar.
“In terms of targets, I want to run my PB (personal best time) and anything beyond that will be a bonus.
“I will be running against some of the best runners in the world and I hope to learn as much as I can so that I come back a better athlete.”
Among the top stories heading into the biennial event is the return to the women’s 100-metre race of the Jamaican trio of Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson for yet another epic duel.
Of particular interest in that race is that Olympic champion Thompson-Herah has set out to win her first global title, while Fraser-Pryce attempts to win her second after her 2008 win in Spain.
Should the 35-year-old Fraser-Pryce succeed, she will have waited 14 years between titles, which is a feat no woman has achieved.
Online Reporter