Online Reporter
Petros Kausiyo in TOKYO, Japan
ZIMBABWE sprint king Tapiwanashe Makarawu will come head-to-head with United States of America sensation Noah Lyles in the semi-final of the men’s 200 metres race at the on-going World Athletics Championships at Japan’s National Stadium later Thursday.
Both men won their respective opening round Heats on Wednesday with Makarawu clocking the second fastest time of the day after winning Heat 2 in 19.91 seconds.
Jamaican Bryan Lavell with 19.84 ran the fastest on the opening day of the 200m competition while Lyles qualified with a time of 19.99, rated the fifth best on the day and Makanakaishe Charamba was sixth with 20.06, while reigning Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who seemed relaxed registered 20.18.
In what promises to be a tense Heat, Makarawu will, apart from the challenge of Lyles, also have to shake off the sprint contests of Sweden’s Henrik Larson, Andre De Grasse (Canada) Adrian Keer (Jamaica), Nigerian Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike, Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes and Sinephiso Dambile of South Africa.
Charamba will, Thursday start Zimbabwe’s quest for honours when he runs in lane 6 of Heat 1 and will compete against Swiss William Reasis, Canadian Aaron Brown, South African Wayde Van Niekerk, hometown athlete Towa Uzawa (Japan), Kenneth Bednarek (USA), Alexander Ogando (Dominican Republic) and Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor.
Botswana poster boy Tebogo headlines Heat 2 that has American Courtney Lindsey, Timothy Mumenthaler (Switzerland), Australian Gout Gout, Jerome Blake (Canada), Ryan Zeze, Netherlands’ Xavi Mo-Ajok and Levell.
It promises to be another night of glory for Zimbabwe as Makarawu and Charamba seek to repeat their 2024 Olympic feat when they reached the final in Paris, France.
The duo’s brilliants starts in Wednesday night’s competition has left everyone in Team Zimbabwe in Tokyo and millions of their countrymen fancying the nation’s chances of a podium finish.
