Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
SPRINTER Ronald Muchichwa feels all hard work he’d put preparing for the 2020 athletics’ season has been wasted by effects of the Covid-19 lockdown.
When all sporting activities were suspended he was in camp with the Bulawayo provincial team in preparation for the National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) finals in Marondera.
Just a week ago, the AUSC Region 5 games were postponed to next year.
All these were events Muchichwa had been training hard for and hoping to make an impact.
At the age of 18, he is already a national team athlete and has been under the able guidance of coach Benson Mwanza for the past four years.
He has won multiple medals in and outside the country and is one of the country’s future prospects.
“I developed a love for athletics when I was in Grade 6. I started as a high jumper, but I did not do well in that discipline. Then in 2014 when l was in Grade 7, I just decided to try sprinting, so I began training just for fun,” said Muchichwa.
“I would do morning jogs, push-ups and other exercises. When I proceeded to Form 1 that’s when I took up sprints seriously and I have gone on to be one of the dominant guys in the 100m, 200m and 400m, not only provincially, but nationally as well.”
Muchichwa is presently an A-Level learner at Mpopoma High School.
Juggling between school and sport has been tough, especially during this Covid-19 period, but Muchichwa says he has handled the pressure well.
“Being a final year high school student has made things a bit more challenging. Given the fact that we have to stay at home, I have had to come up with a programme that will suit my studies and training as well. I have been studying very hard, but the home environment makes it difficult to study peacefully and if only libraries were open it would have been better.
“In terms of training, the coach gave me a programme that I follow to ensure that I keep fit at all times and l’m ready to get back to the track when called on. In all honesty this year has not been easy, missing out on a trip to Kenya, the Nash finals and other competitions has been very disappointing. I had been working hard for the events, but then came the virus and things did not go as planned,” said Muchichwa.
The heavily built athlete says he has been working on his 100m sprints and was hoping to win gold at the Nash finals in Marondera.
Muchichwa’s personal best in the 100m dash is 10.3 seconds, while his average in 400m is just under 49 seconds.
“I love the 100m sprint, but l’m not as good at it as l am in the 400m. So l have been putting lots of work on the 100m sprint. The target was to win gold in Marondera, but sadly the event was cancelled.”
To date, his most memorable event the 400m gold medal in the 2017 Cossasa games that were held at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
“That was the first time l got to represent my country. Winning gold at the event is one thing l will not forget anytime soon,” he said.
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