The Mandedza Express

situated in the Dema area of Seke, used to be the home of an athlete who is now a proud holder of the Zimbabwe national record in the 100m sprint event.
This athlete is young Ngonidzashe Makusha, a track and field specialist who is now based at Florida State University in the United States.
Ngoni spent five years at Mandedza High School, from Form One to Form Five before he moved to Churchill High School in Harare for his Upper Six education.
In fact, Ngoni was enrolled at Mandedza High School in 2001 and stayed there until the first term of 2006 when he moved to Churchill to complete his Upper Sixth.
And by the time he moved to Churchill, Ngoni, who recently clocked an astonishing 9.97 seconds in the 100m which shattered a local national record that has been standing for more than two decades, was already a hit at Mandedza through his exploits in track and field events.
The Herald recently visited Makusha’s “old home” at Mandedza where we caught up with the school’s headmaster, Stanley Gorejena.
Gorejena worked with Ngoni before the young sprint king was “lured” by Churchill and then by World Wide Scholarships who won him a four-year athletics scholarship at Florida State University in the United States.
Gorejena described Ngoni as a young man who loved his sport since he was a Form One pupil at Mandedza.
“We are very proud that our little known Mandedza has produced a world class athlete from such humble resources,” said Gorejena.
He described Ngoni as a rare talent and said the young athlete always strived for the best in his work even with little resources that were available at his disposal at the school.
“We are very happy to be associated with Ngoni as he has done us proud as our product.
“Ngoni was an all-rounder. I remember he was also part of the volleyball and soccer teams and he was very good in those two disciplines.
“He was very determined and always gave a 100 percent effort in everything he did, especially during training, given our humble sporting facilities.
“He used to get the sports awards in almost every discipline, and I had a strong feeling then that one day something big will come out of him and I am happy for him.”
“Everyone at the school is thrilled about his achievement and I am glad that other students are drawing inspiration from his success story,” added Mandedza’s deputy headmaster Lameck Chitongo.
“It shows that as a school we have the potential and we want to work hard to produce more (sporting) heroes that will represent our country internationally.
“We are hoping that one day he (Makusha) will look back to where he came from and help our school since we have little resources, especially when it comes to our sporting equipment and facilities,” said Chitongo.
The people at Mandedza are not the only one who are currently basking in the glory that has been brought to them by Ngoni.
The athlete’s parents, who stay in Chitungwiza, are also proud of their son who recently hit the headlines the world over by setting one of the fastest times in the 100m event this year.
Makusha’s mother, Rhoda, attributed all this to the Almighty God whom she said is the secret behind her son’s success.
“Ngoni grew up a reserved child who I taught to love the church from a tender age.
“I owe everything to God who has opened up the way for my son,” said Rhoda Makusha.
She added: “I am happy with the talent that God has invested in my son and may the Lord provide him with more wisdom and help him win more accolades.”
Ngoni’s father, Andrew, described his son as “a blessing” and took time to narrate how his son grew up.
Andrew Makusha, who was once a soccer player and turned out for Premiership side CAPS United, said Ngoni grew up playing football.
He said his son started showing interest in athletics when he was in Form One at Mandedza.
“At first we discouraged him, thinking that it will affect his education but we later discovered that he was serious and there was nothing we could do besides giving him support.
“During his days at school, Ngoni won a lot of individual awards in long jump and triple jump but I never thought it will get to this.
“The family is just over the moon about Ngoni’s success (in the United States).
“I was shocked when I learnt that he broke the (national 100m) record,” Andrew Makusha said.
He also said that when he first heard that his son had won an athletics scholarship during the NASH competitions, it never crossed his mind that one day he would represent his country at national and international level.
“I pray that God will provide him more success in his career. He is still at school and he last came back home in December last year for a short holiday.
“We speak over the phone most of the time and we are very proud of what he has done to our family.
“At first l wanted him to follow my footsteps and become a footballer but he proved me wrong and l am 100 percent behind him,” said Ngoni’s father.
Ngoni was spotted by a local developmental programme called WorldWide Scholarships which has placed over 150 athletes in American universities in sporting disciplines like athletics, tennis, soccer and field hockey.
The programme, aimed at disadvantaged youth, was founded by a former Penn State sprinter and football player Munya Maraire.
In July 2006 in Windhoek, Ngoni achieved decent results in several events.
In addition to 7.87 metres in the long jump, he jumped 14.90 metres in the triple jump, ran the 100 metres in 10.64 seconds and the 200 metres in 21.57 seconds.
The next month he entered in both long jump and the 100 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships.
In the 100 metres he reached the semi-finals, where he was knocked out with a time of 10.84 seconds.
He reached the final in the long jump event, but finished 12th and last.
The next year he competed at the 2007 All-Africa Games, where he won a bronze medal in the 4×100 metres relay, together with his teammates Gabriel Mvumvure, Brian Dzingai and Lewis Banda.
He also competed in long jump and 100 metres, achieving 7.69 metres and 10.52 seconds in the two events.
For the 2007-08 indoor season, he enrolled at the Florida State University.
He quickly improved his long jumping, recording 7.97 metres in March in Fayetteville.
In May 2008, he finally broke the eight-metre barrier, setting a new Zimbabwean record of 8.16 metres at Tallahassee in Florida.
The next month he won the NCAA Championships held in Des Moines, Iowa.
The freshman did so with another Zimbabwean record, this time with 8.30 metres. He commented that “this is one of my dreams and it just came true”.
The victory was the first in any individual event at the NCAA championships for the Florida State University.
It was also a best mark for the university as well as a stadium record.
Ngoni then represented Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
In the long jump competition he secured a place in the final round with his first qualifying jump, which measured 8.14 metres.
In the final round his first jump measured 8.19 metres.
The 2008-09 indoor season saw Ngoni achieving a personal best time in the 60 metres, running in 6.68 seconds in January in Blacksburg.
In February in the same city he improved this to 6.60 seconds. He also jumped a national indoor record of 8.21 metres.
Ngoni was born in a family of four boys and one girl on March 11 1987.
He did his primary education at Tamuka in Chitungwiza, before he moved to Mandedza High School for his secondary education.