By Daniel Nhakaniso
The Mayor of Hobbs, Hobbs a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States, Sam Cobb has presented Zimbabwean sprinter Tapiwanashe Makarawu with a proclamation declaring September 3 as Tapiwanashe Makarawu Day in recognition of his exploits at the recent Olympic Games in Paris.
Makarawu put both his country Zimbabwe and his alma mater New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) in the limelight following his impressive sixth place finish in the men’s 200m final at last month’sParis Olympic Games.
He was accompanied in the 200m final by his compatriot and Auburn University’s Makanakaishe Charamba, who finished in eighth position.
The 21-year-old Zimbabwean sprinter graduated NMJC in the spring of 2024 and is currently attending the University of Kentucky.
Makarawu finished up his athletic career with NMJC as an 11-time All-American, seven-time individual national champion, seven-time school record holder, and two-time team national champion.
The gifted athlete who is also affectionately known as Carlie recently competed at the 23rd Africa Senior Athletic Championships in Doula, Cameroon June 25-26. The Bindura native finished second in the 200m at the African Championships coming across the line in 20.51.
Makarawu followed up the Africa Senior Athletic Championships with a trip to Lucerne, Switzerland where he competed in the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern track meet. There Makarawu ran in the 200m and finished first in his section with a time of 20.48 (-1.3 wind). He ended up coming in third overall at the July 16 meet as he winded up his preparations for the Olympics.