All eyes on Makarawu, Charamba
ANESU MASAMVU
Zimbabwe’s sprint kings Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba return to the global spotlight today as they launch their 200-metre campaigns at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
Makarawu takes to the track first in heat two at 1:22pm Zimbabwe time, before Charamba follows in heat five at 1:43pm. Both men know the stakes — a place in Thursday’s semi-finals at 2:02pm and, if all goes to plan, Friday’s final at 3:06pm.
Their credentials are undeniable. Makarawu smashed the national record in June with 19.84, while Charamba has gone even quicker, clocking 19.79 in May to cement his place among the world’s elite. Only a handful of sprinters — led by world No.1 Noah Lyles at 19.63 — have gone faster this year.
Charamba’s eighth-place finish in the Paris Olympic final, coupled with Makarawu’s electric run of 20.07 in the heats, already etched their names into Zimbabwean athletics history. Now, with both ranked inside the global top ten, they arrive in Tokyo not as outsiders but as contenders.
The challenge is colossal. Lyles, Bednarek, Tebogo, and the Americans dominate the season’s leaderboard, yet the presence of two Zimbabweans on the same stage has lit up the imagination of a nation. Every stopwatch in Harare will be clicking this afternoon. Every eye will be glued to Tokyo.
For Zimbabwe, this is not just about participation. It’s about proving that Paris was the beginning of something bigger. The world is watching.
