Zimbabwean high jump star Kudakwashe Chadenga continues to scale dizzy heights in the US after winning a gold medal at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Indoor Track & Field Championship in Pittsburg, Arkansas on Friday.
The former Prince Edward High School student has been enjoying a phenomenal rise in the US
barely two months since his move to the US on an athletic scholarship at South Plains College in Texas.
Chadenga was one of the favourites heading to the NJCAA Championships after a phenomenal run in which he broke the Zimbabwe indoor high jump record twice on his way to setting the new record of 2.22m.
Kudakwashe Chadenga 🇿🇼 wins 🥇in high jump at @NJCAA nationals with a jump of 2.19m @zimsportlive @makusha1 @zimolympic @spctexans @AlexandraMaseko pic.twitter.com/csE8RFr4VW
— Rebecca Zeigler Mano (@RebZMano) March 5, 2022
The 19-year-old started the competition with the height of 2.04m and ended at 2.19m, 0.05m ahead of second place which was claimed by his South Plains College teammate Dayvon Williams while Augustus Karweh of Meredith Community College settled for third position.
“This win means a lot to me, the feeling really I can’t express it,” Chadenga told ZimSportLive in an interview.
“I’m happy with my progress since I moved here and my next focus now is on the outdoor season,” he said.
Chadenga went 2.20m at the Charlie Thomas Invitational on February 5 to break the country’s 22 year old national indoor high jump record of 2.16m set by George Maringapasi on January 15, 2000 in New York.
A week later Chadenga returned to break his own week-long Zimbabwe high jump record with a best jump of 2.22m at the Texas Tech Shootout at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center.
Chadenga is a strong favourite to qualify for the World Athletics Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon in July.