NAAZ faces challenges over US-based athletes, turns to locals

THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) has acknowledged the challenges of bringing Zimbabwean athletes based in the United States of America for competitions, saying the distances involved and other logistical issues make it a difficult task.

According to the association, assembling these athletes in one place is not easy, largely because they are spread across different states. This has forced the athletics body to rethink its approach, with a stronger focus now being placed on locally based athletes to compete in relay events.

As a result, there are now concerted efforts to have locally based sprinters try to qualify for the 4x100m relay at major international competitions.

At the end of 2025, Tendai Tagara told Zimpapers Sports Hub that local athletes would focus on qualifying for the World Relays and World Championships in the 4x400m relay. During that period, NAAZ had set aside the 4x100m relay for the US-based contingent, which includes several Zimbabwean athletes capable of running 100m times of 10.5 seconds and below.

However, bringing those athletes together comes at a high cost. An estimated US$20 000 is needed to assemble the team and enable them to compete in a series of qualifying events. The programme would be coordinated by former 200m record holder Brian Dzingai, who has continued to support Zimbabwean athletics both at home and abroad.

While plans for the US-based team continue, the gamble to rely on local athletes in the 4x400m relay has already paid off. The Zimbabwean team won gold at the African Senior Championships held in Ghana last week. This victory added to what has been an impressive year for the team.

Among their achievements this season is setting a new national record of 2 minutes 59.01 seconds. The team also qualified for the World Relays held in Botswana last month, where they finished fifth with a time under three minutes.

Their strong performance in Botswana secured them a place at the World Championships set for Beijing, China, next year.

“We are now going to chase qualification with the 4x100m relay teams on two fronts. We will not abandon our dream of having our sprinters in the United States of America trying there. We have Brian Dzingai to help with the co-ordination. We have a good number of 100 and 200m runners there who can be part of the team.

“However there is always a challenge we face with America based athletes, which is their availability. With the US tightening travel restrictions many of our athletes are not comfortable with coming down home in fear of losing their scholarships and livelihoods once they cannot return to their American bases.

“Scholarship contracts prioritise their university sports and academics so some of the events coincide with their championships just like the Senior African Championships. Some are in season and could not be available,” said Tagara.

Zimbabwe had close to two dozen athletes who had qualified for the African Championships, most of them based outside the country.

However, only a few managed to take part. These included silver medallist in the 100m hurdles Ashley Miller, Tapiwanashe Makarawu, who reached the 100m final and finished a controversial fifth, and Makanakaishe Charamba, who made it into the 4x100m relay final.

Charamba withdrew from the relay team on the morning of the race, while Makarawu had already pulled out on the eve of the semi-finals.

NAAZ had been hopeful that a strong 4x100m relay team made up of Methembe Tshuma on the first leg, Makarawu on the second, Ngoni Makusha on the third, and Charamba anchoring, would give Zimbabwe a good chance of qualifying in Ghana or in future competitions.

While in Ghana, Tagara indicated that attention would now shift to also building a competitive local team for the 4x100m relay.

“We will have local athletes trying to run qualifying standards for the 4x100m. Locals did well in the 4x400m relay and we want to give them another chance in the 4x100m relay,” said Tagara.

Tshuma, who was injured during the semi-finals of the 200m, is expected to play a key role in the relay team, particularly because of his explosive start from the blocks.

National coach Phakamile Lisimati said the selection of the team would be done carefully, with a strong emphasis on consistency.

He explained that one good performance is not enough, and athletes would need to show they can perform at a high level over time.

“We are not after a one-night show. An athlete must have run a specific standard consistently. He said that was the basis for the selection of the 4x400m relay team,” said Lisimati.

Makusha is now expected to lead what could be a youthful and promising local team in the bid to qualify for the 4x100m relay.