Zimbabwean Sprinters End Paris 2024 Olympic Games in 6th and 8th position

Tapiwanashe Makarawu and Makanakaishe Charamba put up a brave fight in the men’s 200m final at the Stade de France, finishing sixth and eighth respectively in the race. Both sprinters gave it their all, with Makarawu clocking 20.10 seconds and Charamba 20.53 seconds coming out sixth and eighth respectively.

Despite not medaling, the two Zimbabwean athletes displayed commendable determination, embodying the spirit of the Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, Noah Lyles lost the Olympic 200 meters, falling to Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo, then being tended to by medics who carted him off the track in a wheelchair suffering with what was learned to be a case of COVID.

After crossing the line third for the second straight Olympics, Lyles fell to his back and eventually sat up to be tended to by medical staff. A person familiar with Lyles’ condition, who did not want to be identified, said he was diagnosed with COVID two days before the final.

It’s the second straight Olympics the virus has played a major role in Lyles’ trip to the Games. He also won the bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, and he has said the empty stands and the year-long delay before the Games led to depression that hampered his performance and inspired his road to Paris.

Reporter: Nokusa Masuku