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Collin Matiza
Sports Editor
UNITED States-based middle and long-distance runner, Pardon Ndhlovu, is still hopeful to qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games despite missing a number of qualifying events last year.
Ndhlovu, who is based in Augusta, United States, wants to make his second straight appearance at the world’s biggest sporting showcase.
He represented Zimbabwe in the men’s marathon at the last Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.
At the Rio Games, Ndhlovu was placed in the top 50, in the men’s marathon, after coming home in 41st place, which was not bad for a man who was making his debut appearance at the global showpiece.
Ndhlovu is among a number of Zimbabwean male and female long-distance athletes hoping to set the qualifying times for the Tokyo Games.
A number of international marathon races, which many long-distance athletes were hoping to use as qualifying events for Tokyo, were either postponed or chalked off last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“ (The year) 2020 was a hard year, no races to put all that training fitness into use. No PRs run,” Ndhlovu recently wrote on his Facebook page.
“I personally was hoping I would have run an Olympic Standard by the end of the year, I was in the best shape of my life.
‘’But, that did not happen by the end of 2020. Then 2021 rolled over, I found a race to use as a qualifier for Tokyo before my federation’s qualification window closes, unfortunately due to Covid-19 that race got moved to the fall.
“And I was forced to reframe what I want out of my career for this year. I want to be healthy and run really well.
‘’I believe the best is yet to come and I will keep on knocking on the door until I get a breakthrough.
“Is making my second Olympic team still a goal? Yes. Does it have to be this year? Not necessarily.
‘’I still have my hopes of making multiple teams for my country before I retire.
‘’I don’t think there is a timeline on when you can achieve your goals since there are a lot of circumstances beyond our control that can affect those outcomes.
‘’However, what I can control is my preparation, attitude and efforts.”
Ndhlovu said he knows that a lot of athletes are in the same boat and encouraged them not to lose hope.
“I know, a lot of you are in the same boat as I am. Got races canceled last year, lost motivation, got sick, and lost love with the one thing that provided you an escape, joy, self-care, etc.
‘’But, taking a closer look back at the year, even though goals were not achieved, was it really a lost year?
“I don’t think so, maybe you run more mileage that you have run before in a week or year. Maybe you run the longest run of your life.
‘’Maybe you got closer to your family because you had to work from home. Maybe you got a chance to get healthy and take a little break from always being on a go and chasing goals.
‘’Maybe you got faster, maybe that nagging injury you have dealt with for so many years is now behind you.
‘’I believe these are little victories that can be celebrated if we start defining success in our own terms that are unique to our situations.
“So, redefine that success and start looking on the brighter side of things and hopefully soon, we can get back to racing again,” Ndhlovu said.
Another Zimbabwean long-distance runner who is also hoping to qualify for the Tokyo Games, Rutendo Nyahora, concurred with Ndhlovu and said qualifying for this year’s Games will not be easy due to Covid-19.
“Qualifying for (the) Olympics is not going to be easy this time due to the pandemic. Let’s keep our hopes high and stay safe,” she said from her base in South Africa.
Online Reporter