Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube, Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWEAN athletics is holding its breath as the final confirmation of athletes for next month’s World Athletics Championships edges closer.
The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) is banking on the world rankings to boost the size of its team for the global showpiece in Tokyo from September 13 to 21.
National coach Phakamile Lisimati said on Tuesday that they are hopeful that more names will sneak in via the rankings system, even if some fell short of the strict entry standards.
“Yeah, we are very optimistic that our guys will make the rankings.
We are waiting for the weekend to get the official word,” said Lisimati. So far, Zimbabwe has six confirmed participants; sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu (200m), 400m runner Vimbai Maisvoreva, and marathoners Isaac Mpofu, Tendai Zimuto and Fortunate Chidzivo.
But four others are hovering just outside the cut and could “gatecrash” Tokyo once World Athletics trims entries by country.
They are sprinter David Nyamufarira, hurdler Ashley Miller, triple jumper Chengetai Mapaya, and 200m hopeful Denzel Simusialela.
All four are ranked inside the world’s top 50 in their events. Simusialela sits 49th in the 200m, Miller is 42nd in the 400m hurdles, Mapaya 16th in the triple jump, while Nyamufarira is 46th in the 100m.
Nyamufarira’s case is especially cruel; his season best 10,01 seconds missed the qualifying standard by just 0,01.
For Zimbabwe, the door is still wide open.
World Athletics requires 50 percent of the field in each event to qualify by entry standards, with the rest filled through global rankings.
That formula could work in the country’s favour because nations like the US and Jamaica routinely flood the top 48 in sprint events but can only send three athletes per discipline.
In the 200m, for example, the US has 18 athletes ranked inside the top 48 but can only take three.
That clears space for runners like Simusialela, whose ranking may otherwise not have been enough.
The official list of athletes will be released by the weekend, once World Athletics finalises the quota system for all events.
For now, Zimbabwe’s athletics community waits, caught between anxiety and hope, as the countdown to Tokyo continues.
