Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
FOR national long and middle-distance runners head coach Benson Chauke, the recent performances by Moses Tarakinyu and Tendai Zimuto at the BMW Berlin Marathon are an indication of the progress local runners are making on the international stage.
Godwin Katakura ran the ADAC Marathon Hannover in 2 hours 8 minutes 47 seconds in April.
Tarakinyu became the second Zimbabwean runner to run sub-2:10 this year. He clocked 2 hours 8 minutes 26 seconds at the recently held BMW Berlin Marathon in Germany.
“This is a homegrown solution. So, with time and the resources, things are changing for Zimbabwe.
We are getting better slowly and slowly,” declared Chauke.
Chauke believes such performances give the athletes a good chance of becoming part of the field at next year’s World Athletics Championships in Beijing.
“As a country, I think, even if we don’t get people that will win, or get the actual qualifying time at 2:06, if we have more of our boys running closer to 2:06 not once but maybe twice or three times, then it gives them an opportunity to earn points so that they can now be considered to go and run the World Champs.
“Tarakinyu has a 2:08, very impressive. Godwin has a 2:08, very impressive.
“Now the current time, Tendai has a 2:10, which is fair.
“Now what will await is World Championships. Tarakinyu, Katakura, they must run again so that they can score points to be considered for World Champs qualification next year.
“So, we are on the right track. We have three people that are very close with the recent times.
“We are waiting for Isaac also to probably post his time, so that we have a group of, say, four, and hopefully we might, if we are lucky, be able to take a full contingent of men marathon athletes to Beijing next year,” added Chauke.
Mpofu took the lead a few years ago, when posting 2 hours 6 minutes 48 seconds at the Valencia Marathon.
And he has represented the country at the World Championships and Olympic Games.
Zimuto in his first international race, when he competed at the Enschede Marathon in 2024, he ran a personal best of 2 hours 9 minutes 30 seconds.
He then clocked 2 hours 9 minutes 43 seconds at the TCS Amsterdam Marathon that same year.
Katakura and Tarakinyu have also joined in.
“The coaches for these guys are local. Alden Muhoni, Cuthbert Nyasango, myself. We don’t go to borrow ideas.
“We use our own ideas, in our own environment, our own terrain, with our little funding that we have, and surely we are getting there.
“But more importantly also, I would like to applaud NAAZ (National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe) for their support for these athletes.
“They believe in the potential that we have in the country, so they periodically will chip in to support either by assisting with tickets or assisting with a little bit of this here, a little bit of that there, to enable these boys to go out there and show the world what they are capable of.
“One would wonder how it could be if we had enough resources to fully fund these boys and their preparation.
“Also, their parent employers who give them time to prepare. It’s very impressive for ZNA to have two of their members going out there raising the Zimbabwe flag high and also putting such commendable results.”
Zimuto and Tarakinyu are members of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), and Chauke said they are grateful for the support.
