Makarawu falls short of 200m semi-finals at World Athletics Championships

By Sports Reporter

Zimbabwean sprinter, Tapiwanashe Makarawu failed to progress to the semi-finals of the men’s 200m event after finishing fourth in Heat 2 at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary on Wednesday.

Makarawu, 23, clocked 20.64 seconds to finish fourth in Heat Two in Budapest.

American Noah Lyles of the United States, who early this week claimed the gold medal in the 100m was first in 20.03, ahead of Jamaica’s Andrew Hudson (20.25sec) and the Czech Republic’s Ondřej MACÍK (20.40sec).

Makarawu’s time was short of his personal best and national record of 19.98 seconds 19.98 he ran in the preliminaries at the NJCAA Outdoor  Championships at the New Mexico Junior College in May.

The first three finishers in each of the seven heats in Hungary plus the next three fastest times qualify for Friday’s semi-finals. The final is on the same day.

Makarawu was ranked 30th of 57 sprinters in the 200m heats and missed out.

Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, who claimed the bronze medal in the 100m two days ago was quickest in the 200m preliminaries 19.99sec.

Although Makarawu narrowly missed out on a semi-final berth, participation in the World Athletics Championships was still a good experience for the gifted Zimbabwean who has been in rehab following an injury that he sustained in May when he helped lead the New Mexico Junior College to the NJCAA Outdoor Championship.

The World Athletics Championships take place every two years with it occurring one year before the Summer Olympics and one year after.

“I am very excited to run, but at the same time I am a bit nervous that I am going to be competing against these world-class professional athletes,” Makarawu said ahead of the event.

“If I could choose to run against anyone in the world right now it would be Noah Lyles or Kenneth Bednarek. It would be great to compete alongside them in Budapest.”

Makarawu got his wish to compete against Lyles head-to-head as he lined up in the same heat as the American 100m world champ.