President hails sprinters

Ellina Mhlanga in PARIS, France

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has hailed sprinters Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba for their outstanding performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The two reached the men’s 200m final.

Makarawu finished on position six in 20.10seconds and Charamba was on number eight in 20.53seconds in the final held at the Stade de France on Thursday night.

Both sprinters were making their maiden appearance at the Olympic Games and it is the first time Zimbabwe has had two sprinters in an Olympics final. 

“My heartfelt congratulations to our remarkable sprinters, Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba, for placing 6th and 8th in the finals of the 200m race at the Paris Olympics.

“Their achievements are a testament to the resilience, determination, and unwavering spirit that define Zimbabwe. 

“They have made our nation proud. Let us celebrate their dedication and continue to support our athletes as they represent us on the global stage,” said President Mnangagwa in a message on X, formerly Twitter.  

The two athletes have won the hearts of many back home after posting brilliant performances on their way to the final where they competed against some of the world’s best.

The race was won by Letsile Tebogo of Botswana. United States  duo of Kenneth Bednarek and Noah Lyles got silver and bronze.

The race also included Erriyon Knighton, who finished fourth in 19.99seconds. He was followed by Alexander Ogando of Dominican Republic on position five with a time of 20.02seconds. 

Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh was number seven in 20.15seconds. 

The final featured four African athletes, which was as a major score for the continent. 

Meanwhile, Makarawu and Charamba will receive US$1 000 each from Baldmin Holdings, for reaching the finals. 

This is sponsored by Baldmin Holdings director Costar Takawira, who was impressed by the two sprinters. 

Baldmin Holdings are major sponsors for the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe.

NAAZ president Tendayi Tagara was full of praise for the sprinters.

“We are very happy for the first time in 16 years since 2008 we are having finalists at the Olympics, after Brian Dzingai’s 2008 performance.

“Again, if we look at these two young men, they still have two top Olympics. We are hoping that they will perform better. Now our focus is Tokyo 2025 (World Championships).

“We are happy that we are growing. We are hoping that we have more than three next year for Tokyo. That will be more than three sprinters who qualify for Tokyo.”

Tagara said they are grateful to Baldmin Holding for recognising the two athletes and also supporting local competitions in Zimbabwe. 

“We are happy Mr Takawira has been an all-weather partner for athletics. 

“He is supporting three major track competitions, which are well-supported for our athletes . . . We are also expecting that this will grow from strength to strength.

“We are happy that the performance was good,” said Tagara.

He also wished the marathon runners – Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora well in their races today and tomorrow respectively. 

“We wish the best to Mpofu and Nyahora tomorrow and Sunday. We want them to enjoy the races tomorrow and Sunday.

“Mpofu is battle hardened. Our objective is to make sure he comes in well placed . . .We are not going to push him but we want him just to perform well and do better for the nation. 

“Anything that is better than a top-10 finish is incredible for us as an association because that was our objective because he has been there in the top 10 before, he can still make it to top 10,” said Tagara.