Tsumba dances with the stars

13 Jan, 2019 - 00:01 0 Views
Tsumba dances with the stars

The Sunday Mail

Tinashe Kusema

VERY few athletes, the world over, have managed to leave more lasting impressions of their chosen disciplines than the duo of Usain Bolt and Serena Williams.

One is an 11-time world champion, eight-time Olympic gold medalist, holder of multiple world records and an all-round swell bloke.

And the other; well, the other is Serena Williams.

Given the aura that follows both athletes, it goes without saying that meeting just one of them would leave a lasting impression to us mere mortals.

But for United States-based sprinter Tatenda Tsumba, his chance encounters with both could very well prove to be career defining.

“I met Serena Williams at the Rio Olympics, back in 2016; and while it was a very short meeting- as there so many people clamouring around her and I only managed to introduce myself – that to me was enough,” said the 27-year-old sprinter.

“You grow up watching and idolising some of these top athletes; and to now get the chance to meet them in the flesh is very surreal,” he said.

As brief an encounter as his meeting with Williams was, the case of Usain Bolt was a totally different thing.

“I have met Bolt a couple of times – specifically back in 2015 and 2016 – during my trips to Jamaica where I used to go for training camps with the help of NAAZ,” said Tsumba.

“I used to watch a lot of his (Bolt) videos, trying to learn as much as I can, and I was totally taken aback when I got the chance not only to meet him but also train with him.

“It was truly a great moment for me, and the advice he gave me will last forever,” he said.

It can’t really be a coincidence that these meetings came just before the 27-year-old’s career burst.

Tsumba is currently enjoying a four-year purple patch. The Eaglesvale-alumni has since migrated to the United States of America where he is currently pursuing his professional career on the track and studying for a degree in Communications at the Brigham Young University.

He has taken part in the World Championships (2015), the Rio Olympics (2016) and last year’s African Championship held in Asaba, Nigeria.

While results have not necessarily gone his way on the track, as his best result was a fourth-place at the African Championships, time is still on his side.

He has only started making some noise in the US, with his personal best time being 10. 22 and 20.22 seconds in the 100 and 200 meters respectively.

Now, the 100 and 200-meter specialist has set his sights on the 2020 Olympics.

“The Tokyo Games are the ultimate goal, and everything I do between now and then will be towards returning to the Olympic stage come 2020.

“It’s all about pacing yourself, taking every competition as it comes.

“First up will be the World Championships, slated for September 28-October 6 in Qatar.

“There the goal is not only to qualify but progress through the heats and hopefully get a podium finish,” he said..

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