By Daniel Nhakaniso
After dominating the rounds of the men’s 200 metres at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Zimbabwean top sprinters Makanakaishe Charamba and Tapiwanashe Makarawu produced a historic near clean sweep in the final of the event on Bryan College Station, Texas on Saturday.
Charamba of Auburn University was the star of the show as he produced a championship record and lowered his own Zimbabwean indoor record to a sensational 20.13 and win the final of the event.
Charamba, who was an Olympic finalist in Paris last summer, ran a 20.13 seconds won the 200m title by over a tenth of a second ahead of his compatriot and close friend Tapiwanashe Makarawu of the University of Kentucky, who finished 20.26 seconds.
Louisiana State University’s Jaiden Reid who clocked a personal best and new Cayman Islands national record time of 20.27 seconds to secure the bronze medal.
However all the spotlight was undoubtedly on Charamba.
Not only was Charamba’s time the fastest indoor 200 in the world this year but was also the world’s seventh fastest time ever in the event.
Charamba’s win in the event was Auburn University’s first since American Olympian Coby Miller won in 1999 and 2000.
Meanwhile Zimbabwean female sprinter Vimbayi Maisvorewa, who broke her own school record in the women’s 400m on Friday with a time of 51.55, placed seventh in the event in Saturday’s final, crossing in 53.22.
Maisvorewa joined Deborah Oke, Zuriel Reed and Ashante Harvey of Auburn University to finish seventh in the 4x400m relay in 3:34.06.