By Daniel Nhakaniso
Olympic finalist Makanakaishe Charamba finished second in the men’s 200m at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest on Tuesday, leading a strong Zimbabwean showing that also saw Thandazani Ndhlovu set a personal best and Ashley Miller-Kamangirira finish fifth in the 400m hurdles.
Charamba clocked 20.09 seconds to finish behind Morocco’s Yassine Hssine, who broke his country’s 200m national record with 19.92.
Nigeria’s Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike completed an all-African podium in 20.18.
Canada’s Olympic 4x100m relay gold medallist Aaron Brown was fourth in 20.20, while Australian Lachlan Kennedy finished sixth in 20.44.
The Gyulai István Memorial is the final World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting of the season, one level below the Diamond League.
Hssine credited his family and coaches after his record-breaking run and said Africa’s clean sweep of the podium reflected the continent’s growing strength in the sprint events.
“I am very happy with the national record,” Hssine, 23, said after his win. “It’s all thanks to my family and coaches. I stuck to my routine, everything went according to plan.”
As for the key to the African sweep? “It’s all in the mentality,” he explained.
“The African mentality is very strong.”
Elsewhere, Thandazani Ndhlovu continued his impressive breakthrough season by lowering his personal best to 44.64 seconds as he finished fourth in the men’s 400m.
Olympic bronze medallist Muzala Samukonga of Zambia won the race in a season’s best 44.02, ahead of Hungary’s Attila Molnár (44.51) and South Africa’s Zakithi Nene (44.57), with Ndhlovu narrowly missing out on the podium in another high-quality international field.
Zimbabwe’s Ashley Miller-Kamangirira also featured strongly, placing fifth in the women’s 400m hurdles in 55.03.
American Jasmine Jones won in 52.91, her fastest time of the season, with Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton second in 53.34, Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya third in 54.18 and Jamaica’s Shiann Salmon fourth in 54.81.
For Zimbabwe, Charamba’s podium finish, Ndhlovu’s personal best and Miller-Kamangirira’s top-five placing continued an encouraging international campaign for a group of athletes who have already rewritten the national 4x400m relay record, won African championship gold and secured qualification for both the World Athletics Relays and the 2027 World Athletics Championships.