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Tadiwa Mhonde

Allen Khumalo Sports Reporter
FALCON College schoolboy Tadiwa Mhonde has equalled his school’s 100m record that has stood for nine years.

According to Falcon College sports director Brendon French, the 18-year-old Mhonde clocked 10.8 seconds to equal the Esigodini-based school’s record that was set in 2007.

Although the Upper Six learner is adamant that he set a new school record, French insisted that Mhonde equalled the existing record in the 100m dash.

“I am actually happy because this is a big achievement for me. I initially pursued athletics because I wanted to get a university scholarship, but I now want to take it to the next level by qualifying for and competing in the Olympics,” said Mhonde.

“When I was at primary school, I never thought I would go this far with athletics. I started doing it for fun because I always came first in 100m and 200m races but, I’m now taking athletics seriously and wish to one day represent my country in the Olympics,” he said.

Mhonde, who started running when he was in Grade Two at Eiffel Flats Primary School in Kadoma, has also gone on to compete in major competitions such as the International Championships in Belgium.

Mhonde is also Falcon’s 200m (22.3 seconds) record holder which he set this year. He said his best time in 200m is 21.76 seconds, which was not at a recognised competition.

Mhonde said striving to be the best is what keeps him training harder. He has also been working with former Zimbabwe 400m record holder Arnold Payne to get an athletics university scholarship in the United States of America via his Payne Global Sports Management.

“I want to do Business Studies at university and I have been in regular communication with Payne because he has connections in the United States. He has been telling me that hard work is the key to success and he also told me not to detach from my studies,” Mhonde said.

He attended the athletics workshops Payne conducted with renowned United States athletics coach Darryl Anderson in Bulawayo recently and hopes to match Payne by competing on a global stage in the sport he has come to love.

Tadiwa’s mother Wendy Mhonde said: “We saw the potential in him from primary level because he was always coming first in all competitions. When he took part in the inter-schools, that’s when we realised that he is going far then we started encouraging him to work harder. As a family, he really did us proud and we hope one day he will make our country proud with an Olympic medal.” – @khumzallen