Zim pin medal hopes on Makarawu, Charamba, Mapaya

Petros Kausiyo in TOKYO, Japan

FOLLOWING the decent showing of the long-distance runners, focus in Team Zimbabwe shifts back to the track and field where three of the country’s medal prospects – Tapiwanashe Makarawu, Makanakaishe Charamba and Chengetayi Mapaya plunge into World Athletics Championships competition today.

Makarawu and Charamba, who hogged the limelight last year when they burst into the 200m final at the Olympic Games in Paris, France will once again be Zimbabwe’s flag bearers when they feature in the Heats of that event.

Triple jumper Mapaya, who made his World Championships bow at the meet in Doha, Qatar as a university student in the United States, is back at athletics’ biggest global event having now graduated from college.

The United-States-based trio will take to the track and field, just two days after veteran runner Isaac Mpofu showed the world what Zimbabwe has to offer in the marathon when finishing 10th in a closely fought 42km race on Monday morning.

Today all Zimbabwean eyes will be on Makarawu, Charamba and Mayapa as they battle for honours at Japan’s National Stadium in Tokyo.

The trio has been hard at work since arriving in Tokyo, where both Makarawu and Charamba also travelled with their personal coaches from the United States to augment the Team Zimbabwe technical crew headed by Phakamile Lisimati.

Lisimati, the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe director of coaching, talent identification and development was yesterday oozing confidence that the trio would hold their own against global stars who are in the Japanese capital.

United States star sprinters Noah Lyles and Kenneth Bednarek, Botswana’s first-ever Olympic gold medalist in the 200m Letsile Tebogo, Andre De Grasse of Canada are among the global stars who will stand in the way of possible podium appearances for Makarawu and Charamba.

But Lisimati is confident the experience which the pair gained from the Olympics and the fact that they have run some big international races including in the Diamond League, since turning professional, should stand them in good stead to secure qualifying times in their Heats.

Makarawu also holds the national 200m record of 19.84 seconds which he set in June last year.

Lisimati has been a proud man to have seen NAAZ’s strategic plan come into play.

The athletic body had set out to increase the number of athletes they send to continental and global meets.

Resultantly, Lisimati is optimistic about positive results, with eight athletes competing in various events, including sprints, hurdles, marathon, and field events.

The team in Tokyo is the biggest contingent ever to be assembled by NAAZ for any of the World Championships and apart from the quartet of Mpofu, Charamba, Makarawu and Mapaya, the contingent here also included marathon runners Fortunate Chidzivo and Tendai Zimuto, hurdler Ashley Miller and 400m sprinter Vimbai Maisvorewa.

Miller, Maisvorewa and Zimuto were also making their World Championships debuts.

“We are now down to three athletes who are still to go into competition, three from eight athletes, which is our record-breaking number of athletes as Zimbabwe at the championships. 

“We are very, very confident and hopeful of positive results that we have always been pushing for.

“We are having two of our Olympic finalists take to the track tomorrow and we also have seasoned jumper Chengetayi Mapaya going into competition tomorrow in the afternoon at 12.

“We are very, very hopeful and confident that any of the three athletes will take us to the final, that amongst Mapaya, Charamba and Makarawu anyone one of them if not all will take us to the final.

“That one I am confident and hopeful that these guys will do well tomorrow.’’

Lisimati also spoke about the confidence exuded by his athletes and noted the maturity in Mapaya.

Mapaya comes in as one of the senior athletes that we have and one of the most experienced.

“With the confidence that he is in and the expectation that he is aware is on his shoulders and just like Mpofu are expecting to reach the finals.”

The NAAZ director of coaching was also happy with the levels of confidence in Makarawu and Charamba.

“After turning professional the two boys are very confident I should say. We spoke earlier today and they are very confident and focused.

“Having taken part in the Diamond League, I should say they are going to meet about 90 percent of the athletes they were competing against.

“They have been competing in some big races including in the Diamond League and I am very confident that Maka and Tapiwa will do very well tomorrow,’’ Lisimati said.

For Charamba, it might be his debut at the World Championships, but the expected line-up of his foes is that of familiar faces.

He also arrives at this meet with a current personal best in the 200m of 19.92, which he set at the SEC Outdoor Championships in May.