Team Zimbabwe run against the odds

Tinashe Kusema

SITUATED on the eastern bank of the Danube River south of central Budapest, the National Athletics Centre in Hungary is set to be a hive of activity for the next eight or so days as it hosts the 2023 World Athletics Championships.

Launched initially as a four-yearly event at great pains not to undermine the Olympics, the championships switched to a biennial term in 1993 and has seen better days during its last couple of editions.

For the second year, following last year’s event in Eugene in the United States of America, the World Athletics Championships continues to feel the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also has to contend with the looming shadow of next year’s Olympics in Paris, all the while hoping to boost the fledging television audience and poor crowds.

Aiding in the event’s hopes for a resurgence is the many subplots that will come in play at the meet which officially stars today.

Certain eyes are sure to be fixed on Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, the Belarusian sprinter, who defected at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago and has been cleared by World Athletics to compete for Poland after the global body waived the normal three-year waiting period for nationality changes.

The 26-year-old refused to board a flight back home from Tokyo when she was removed from the Olympics against her will after publicly complaining about national team coaches’ decision to enter her in the 4×400 metres relay.

Perennial favourites at such events, the United States have sent 139 athletes, some of whom are world and Olympic champions.

Among the crowd pullers is the trio of Noah Lyles, Christian Coleman and Sha’Carri Richardson, the latter is aiming to end Jamaica’s dominance in the women’s sprints.

The United States dominate an estimated 2 000 athletes from 202 countries scheduled to take part in the games.

And of those 2000 athletes, Zimbabwe are among those with the lowest contingents, as only sprinter Tapiwanashe Makarawu and marathon runners Isaac Mpofu, Ngonidzashe Ncube and Fortunate Chidzivo have qualified.

The numbers certainly don’t look good and the odds are stacked against the country’s representatives, a fact that does not seem lost on Team Zimbabwe coach Benson Chauke.

While he appreciates that a bigger contingent would increase the country’s medal prospects, Chauke is more concerned with his charges doing their best to improve on their times and maybe post-qualifying times for the Olympics.

A medal will be a welcome bonus.

“Athletics is an individual sport… a country can carry as many as 100, 200 or so athletes, but when a runner walks onto the track he has one goal and that is to win the race,” said Chauke.

“While carrying many athletes would have increased our chances for medals, the four that we have are enough.

“Going to an event of this magnitude and getting an opportunity to compete against the world’s best athletes is a learning curve for both myself and these runners.

“We are happy with what we have, what we have done in terms of preparations and we are all raring to go,” he said.

The long-serving coach has been overseeing the long-distance runners- Mpofu, Ncube and Chidzivo- for about a month and a half now, and says that the preparations have gone on well.

“The preparations have been good,” he said.

“The athletes started training from their bases with Mpofu in Hwange while Ncube and Chidzivo were doing the same in Chitungwiza.

“We then came together, I think early July and have been just polishing up since.

“With the resources that were available, I think we did the best that we could.

“All that is left now is the actual games,” said Chauke.

The team is expected to leave for Hungary on Tuesday and they appeared pretty upbeat as the long distance trio went about putting the final touches.

Leading the charge is Mpofu, who is the most experienced of the trio with two World Championships under his belt from the Doha and Eugene editions in 2019 and 2022.

“Yeah, I have competed in two World Championships already, but every competition is new and comes with its own needs and challenges,” he said.

“That being said, I am pretty happy with the work I have put in and can’t wait until we leave for Hungary,” he said.

Mpofu goes into this meet with one set target which is to improve on his 10th-place finish last year

“It is hard for me to aim for a personal best (PB) time or podium finish as I am not in the shape I need to be to aim for such targets.

“I got injured a few months ago and have had to work back into shape again.

“Going into this meet, I hope to get a better (or lower) position to the 10th place finish from last year.

“Anything beyond that will be a bonus.

“If the opportunity arises that I can achieve a personal best time or podium finish, I will definitely go for it,” he said.

Mpofu will line up against fellow countryman Ngonidzashe Ncube in the marathon race on August 27.

Ncube was the embodiment of confidence and vowed to go for broke.

“I am not even looking at the big names on the card, we will see and deal with them when the race comes,” he said.

“All I can say is that we are all ready, morale is high in camp and we are not afraid of anything or anybody.

“My targets are simple, I want to run my personal best and try to qualify for the Olympics,” Ncube said.