Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IN a cruel twist of fate, Zimbabwe’s men’s 4x400m relay team saw their dreams of qualifying for the World Athletics Championships crushed yesterday, not by a faster team, but by a technicality.
The quartet of Gerren Muwishi, Leeford Zuze, Aldrin Tafa and Dennis Hove was disqualified for starting outside the takeover zone during the crucial second round of qualifying at the World Relays in Guangzhou, China.
Having booked their place at the World Relays just last month at the Lefika International Relays in Botswana, the team carried national hopes into the high-stakes event, aiming to secure one of the remaining spots at the World Championships set for Tokyo, Japan, this September.
Only the top 14 teams from each discipline would qualify from Guangzhou. Zimbabwe clocked 3 minutes 05.65 seconds in Saturday’s first round heat, finishing sixth behind France (3:00.30) and Kenya (3:00.88), who both progressed directly to the finals and secured automatic qualification.
The rest, including Zimbabwe, were shuffled into two heats for yesterday’s qualifying round two, with the top three from each heat earning a final chance to make it to Tokyo.
Placed in heat one, Zimbabwe faced fierce competition from Brazil, the Netherlands, and Jamaica, who ultimately claimed the top three qualifying spots. Brazil won the heat in 3:01.14, while the Netherlands and Jamaica followed closely to punch their tickets to the global showpiece.
Zimbabwe’s disqualification marked a bitter end to an otherwise promising campaign and mirrored the disappointment of 2019, when the men’s 4x100m relay team suffered the same fate at the same stage during the World Relays in Yokohama, Japan.
“Technically, stage fright plays a role. Two, you will be thinking too much about wanting to perform. It happens,” said National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) president Tendayi Tagara.
“That’s where mind toughness comes into play in relay.”
Despite the setback, Tagara remained hopeful, already looking ahead to the next edition of the World Relays, which will be hosted by Botswana in 2026.
“It happens, but it’s tough. At least we had that platform. We want to do better in Botswana in 2026. It’s too close, we cannot fail to qualify.
“So, we are hoping for the best for them in 2026, but at least that experience was good for them.
“I am happy they went there; they experienced the competition at this level. Disqualification is part of the game, but we were not expecting it, especially for 4x400m,” he said.
