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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
IN our previous edition of the Saturday Chronicle, we published a list of some of Zimbabwe’s yesteryear sports greats who left their mark in the country’s sports folklore.
The list is long and as such we today publish another set of sons and daughters of Zimbabwe who wrote their names in the history books of Zimbabwean sports.
Elliot Mujaji
A member of the Zimbabwe athletics team of the 1998 Commonwealth Games, Mujaji suffered severe burns on his right arm which led to amputation. However, Mujaji was not deterred as he competed and qualified for 2000 Summer Paralympic in Sydney, Australia where he won the ‘first ever Paralympic gold medal in the 100 metres sprint. At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, he again won gold in the 100 metres sprint.
Cara Black
A name familiar to many tennis and non tennis supporters in Zimbabwe and the world. Coming from a family of great tennis players, Cara Black is a 10-time Grand Slam champion and a former world number one in doubles tennis. She is one of the three women to have won a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. She is also in contention for the 2023 tennis Hall of Fame, having won the fans’ vote a couple of months ago. The winner will be announced early next year and the induction ceremony is scheduled for July 22, 2023.
Mathias Kanda
Having already mentioned one athletics great, it’s fair to talk about, probably the pioneer of black athletics in Zimbabwe. The late Mathias Kanda, a marathon runner, was the first African to represent Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) at the Olympics in the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. He won the Republic of South Africa marathon championships in 1964, 1968 and 1969. Kanda died on 30 October 2009 after a long illness.
Itsanang Abu Basuthu
Born in Gwanda playing volleyball, a sport that is considered a minority, Abu Basuthu is regarded as one of the best players to come out of Matabeleland. He took over from the old guard which included Nicholas Mavunde, Jefias Gumbo, Togara Machokoto, Francis Moyo, Clifford Makunike and Shaun Orange among others. Abu Basuthu holds the highest International Volleyball Federation Level Three diploma alongside a few other Zimbabweans.
Tatenda Taibu
A former Zimbabwean cricketer who captained the Zimbabwe national cricket team, Taibu was a wicket keeper and batsman. He held the record for being the youngest test captain in history. He held the record from 6 May 2004 when he captained Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka to 5 September 2019 when Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan became the youngest.
Sthulile Mlotshwa
A netball ace and former national team player , Mlotshwa moved to Botswana in 1994 to pursue a netball career which has given her so many accolades over the years. She was part of the Gems team that won a silver medal during the All-Africa Games that were held in Harare. Since her appointment as the national team coach for Botswana, she has held various posts in netball. In 2014 she was a technical official for the Africa Youth Games that were held in Botswana. In 2016 she was named the Bench Manager for Africa Netball Youth Cup Qualifiers. In 2017 she was a co-coach for the Africa Netball Championships and also holds an Africa Netball technical official certificate.
John Love
Many motorsport lovers will always remember the name John Love. Most young people were not born when the late Love was at the peak of his career. Racing for then Rhodesia, Love participated in 10 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 29 December 1962, achieving one podium finish. All but one of his Formula One entries were in races held within Africa, either as championship or non-championship rounds. Love also won the 1962 British Saloon Car Championship now known as the British TouringCarChampionship.
Bruce Grobbelaar
The former Liverpool goalkeeper was the first African to win the Uefa Champions League in 1984 when it was known as the European Cup and to date, is the only Zimbabwean to have won the prestigious championship. Grobbelaar spent 13 years with the Merseyside team and helped them win six league titles and three FA Cups, establishing himself as one of the best goalkeepers at that time. He had 32 caps for the Warriors. — @ brandon_malvin
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