Online Reporter
Lovemore Dube in ACCRA, Ghana
Ace Zimbabwe sprinter Tapiwanashe Makarawu missed out on a medal after a photo-finish decision placed him fifth in the 100m final at the African Senior Championships at the University of Ghana Stadium on Wednesday evening.
With Esme Emmanuel of Cameroon taking gold in 10.2577 seconds, judges took more than 15 minutes to determine the placings of the next four athletes, among them Makarawu.
After the protracted wait, Bradley Nkowna of South Africa was awarded second position in 10.3117 seconds, Ezeakor Chidera of Nigeria finished third in 10.3183, while Ghana’s Amoah Joseph was fourth in 10.3220. Makarawu was placed fifth in a controversial 10.3243 seconds.
Several replays appeared to show the Zimbabwean sprinter in contention for either second or third place.
“We are now focusing on tomorrow’s events,” was all coach Phakamile Lisimati could say after receiving the official results.
The Ghana Athletics Association apologised to the media on Facebook on Wednesday night for the shambolic manner in which results were being released.
The association assured the media that there would be improvements on Thursday, the third day of the championships which started on Tuesday.
Apart from the medal disappointment in the later events of the day, Wednesday turned into a superb outing for Zimbabwe’s rising 400m stars Leeford Zuze, Thandazani Ndhlovu and Dennis Hove, who all qualified for Thursday’s final scheduled for after 4PM.
Their qualification underlined the form they have shown over the past two months, during which they twice broke the national 4x400m relay record and became the first Zimbabweans in almost 20 years to run sub-45 seconds since Lewis Banda and Talkmore Nyongani.
Zuze, the first Zimbabwean to dip below 45 seconds this year with a personal best of 44.91 seconds, finished second in his semi-final heat in 45.5569 seconds, behind Botswana’s Justice Oratile, who clocked 45.4702 seconds.
Dennis Hove produced the standout performance of the one-lap event. After a shaky start in which he visibly appeared anxious about a false start, Hove surged to the front by the 50m mark and maintained control to win his heat in 44.8762 seconds, the fastest time of the semi-finals.
Hove’s previous best was 45.00 seconds achieved in Botswana last month.
Thandazani Ndhlovu finished second behind Botswana’s Eppie Lee, who won in 44.8875 seconds, the second fastest time across the three heats. Zimbabwe’s fastest 400m runner this year, Ndhlovu clocked 45.4052 seconds, setting the stage for what has been dubbed the “Battle of Ramokgwebana River” on West African soil.
The Ramokgwebana River separates Zimbabwe and Botswana between Plumtree and Tsessebe communities.
With athletics finals often unpredictable, Southern African athletes have also been warned to watch out for Kenya’s Tonui Kiprotich, who ran 45.8989 seconds in the semi-finals, and Nigeria’s Fjeli Ifeanyi, who clocked 45.4996, as potential spoilers.
“The boys are ready, they have prepared for this moment,” said Lisimati, who has been working with the 400m runners for over a month together with team captain Gerren Muwishi, with whom they finished fifth in the World Relays final in Botswana last week.
On Thursday morning, the Zimbabwean team took to the track to work on baton exchanges for the 4x100m relay.
The quartet will compete later in the day in the heats of the event. Young Methembe Tshuma will start the race before passing the baton to Makarawu, who will hand over to Ngoni Makusha, with Makanakaishe Charamba anchoring the team.
Ashley Miller will also compete in the 400m hurdles, where she is among the favourites.
Miller won Zimbabwe’s first medal of the championships after finishing second in the 100m hurdles final to claim silver. She clocked 13.2463 seconds in a race won by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 12.8353 seconds.
Zimbabweans will be hoping for a surprise 1-2-3 finish in the 400m final if Lady Luck smiles on the athletes and they execute their race plans well while managing their energy efficiently.
