Charamba, Makawaru in brave fight

SPRINTERS Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba concluded their Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a good fight in the men's 200m final when finishing sixth and eighth respectively at the Stade de France last night.

Running side by side in lanes two and three, the Zimbabwean sprinters gave their all, with Makarawu finishing sixth in 20.10 seconds while Charamba crossed the finishing line on position eight in 20.53 seconds.

Fellow African, Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who crossed the finishing line in 19.46 seconds, won the race.

He was followed by USA's Kenneth Bednarek in second in 19.62 seconds and Noah Lyles settled for third position in 19.70 seconds.

Both Makarawu and Charamba were making their Olympic debut and this was the first time Zimbabwe had two sprinters in the final at the Olympics. Makarawu, a silver medallist at the Africa Senior Championships held in Cameroon, was satisfied with the outcome of his first appearance at the Olympic Games.

"It was a good experience. The finals today, it was enjoyable. It was the most relaxed race I have ever run in my life.

"I wish I could get another lane between those fast guys but it is what it is. But I did my best coming sixth in the world," said Makarawu.

While they missed the medals at this edition of the Games, the Zimbabwe national record holder is confident of the future of athletics for Zimbabwe.

He is also hopeful of next year's World Championships. He qualified for the global meet when running 20.07 seconds in the first-round heats on Monday.

"It means a lot to me and it means that we are going somewhere as Zimbabwe, as (well as) me and my coach, I am just three places from the podium finish.

"So, from today onwards I know what I need to work on and we will see how it goes from today until next year's Tokyo World Championships," said Makarawu.

His Team Zimbabwe colleague was also a happy man.

Charamba said it has been an interesting outing and a learning curve for him having worked towards making the Olympics a reality since 2021.

"It means a lot to me. It means me and my coach are on the right track . . . I would probably say it's an interesting championship for me.

"It's my debut and I can't complain of anything but I want to say it up from here."

Speaking on yesterday's race, Charamba said he was a bit scared going against the world's top athletes. "To be honest I was scared. This is my first time racing these guys and these are big names.

"But since the race is done now, and now I have the experience, I will just carry it going forward, now I know what to do and what not to do going forward in the next championship.

"So (I will) just get back to the drawing board, rest a bit then get into off-season training in a few months.

"It's a dream come true that I have made it to the Olympics, and everybody was counting me out like nobody thought I was going to make the final. "So now me making the finals is a great feeling and finishing top eight in the world its great. Nobody can take that away from me and I am just grateful for the journey and I am looking to a great career.

"This championship was a learning curve for me," said Charamba.

The focus now shifts to the marathon with Isaac Mpofu and Rutendo Nyahora competing on Saturday and Sunday respectively.