By Sean McAlister / Olympics.com
Ropafadzo Mzondo’s victory in the Dakar 2026 athletics men’s 200 metres final on Tuesday (10 November) was a dream come true.
His gold medal made history as the first ever won by a Zimbabwean athlete at the Youth Olympic Games.
But as he basked in the glory in front of a cheering crowd, the young athlete’s thoughts turned to his father, who had once shared his own ambitions of making it as a sprinter.
“My dad really inspired me a lot, because he’s the person who pushed me to start athletics,” Mzondo told Olympics.com after his win at the Complexe Iba Mar Diop.
“Without him, I wouldn’t have been a Youth Olympic gold medallist right now, because he’s the one who’s been pushing me over and over and over.”
Mzondo’s father, Liberty, was a talented runner himself, but without the financial support needed to progress in the sport, his own ambitions eventually faltered. However, after seeing his son race at a Lomagundi College athletics meet, he recognised something of himself in Mzondo.
“I saw him sprinting. That’s when I discovered that this young man carries my DNA,” said Liberty in an interview with Herald Online.
From that moment on, he encouraged his son to pursue athletics, culminating in this victory in Dakar.
But for Mzondo, chasing a Youth Olympic dream would not be without its challenges.
An early setback and a glorious ending
Mzondo has already experienced plenty in his short athletics career.
The 17-year-old specialises in the 200m and 400m and has made remarkable progress since beginning formal training about three years ago. Having initially run the 400m in around 53 seconds, he has lowered his personal-best time by more than six seconds.
His breakthrough came in 2025, when he won gold in the 4x400m relay at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games. He also reached the Under-18 finals of both the 200m and 400m at the African U18 and U20 Championships in Nigeria.
At the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships, Mzondo was selected to represent Zimbabwe. In the heats, he broke his national U18 record with a time of 46.51 seconds to reach the semi-finals, where he finished sixth.
But the impressive results didn’t stop there. He was also part of the Zimbabwean 4x400m team that reached the final for the first time in the nation’s history, setting a national U20 record in the process.
Selection for Dakar 2026 would, however, prove a more complicated affair.
Having not been originally selected to race in Senegal, Mzondo was only informed that an extra quota place for the 200m had become available in October, just weeks before the Games.
But when the opportunity presented itself, he took it with both hands.
Ropafadzo Mzondo on winning gold at Africa’s first Olympic event: “It’s really special for me as an African”
Mzondo entered the Youth Olympic Games with a 200m personal best of 21.26 seconds.
It wouldn’t take long for him to reset his own record.
In the semi-finals, he stormed to victory in 21.01 before winning the final in 21.04, a full 0.32 seconds faster than silver medallist Deuquan Farrell of Guyana.
While the time surprised many, it didn’t come as a shock to Mzondo himself.
“From my training with my coach, I knew I would have run that fast,” he said. “And personally I think I could have done way, way better here. But it is what it is. I managed to push myself to the limit, and that’s what I measured.”
While Mzondo’s confidence was high heading into the final, winning Zimbabwe’s first gold medal at the Youth Olympic Games was a highlight: “It made me feel a bit special being able to do that.”
And while topping the podium at the Youth Olympic Games may be one of the highlights of his career so far, the location in which he claimed it is just as important for Mzondo.
“It’s really special for me, as an African, to be able to come from Zimbabwe to Senegal to compete at an Olympic event,” he said of competing at the first Olympic event held on African soil.
“I hope with the Lord’s grace we will be able to hold more and more Olympic events in Africa.”
Mzondo has not only achieved his own goals in Dakar, but fulfilled the dream of his father who supported him all the way.
