Ngonidzashe Makusha (born 11 March 1987) is a

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

an sprinter and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

er. He is the national record holder over 100 m and Long Jump for

with 9.89 s (+1.3 m/s) and 8.40 m (0.0 m/s) respectively. Both performances achieved during the 2011 NCAA Division I Championships in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

where he completed the 100 m

double. Following the 2 gold medals victory, Makusha became one of the only four, now five, athletes to win the double (100 m & Long Jump) at the

NCAA championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. The four others are

DeHart Hubbard William DeHart Hubbard (November 25, 1903 – June 23, 1976) was a track and field athlete who was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event: the running long jump at the 1924 Paris Summer games. He s ...

(1925),

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

(1935 & 1936),

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996 ...

(1981), and

Jarrion Lawson Jarrion Lawson (born May 6, 1994) is an American sprinter and long jumper. He placed third in the men's long jump at the 2012 World Junior Championships. Competing for the Arkansas Razorbacks, he won five individual NCAA championship titles and ...

(2016).Jad Adrian (June 2011)
Ngonidzashe Makusha of Zimbabwe – 100m 9.89s and Long Jump 8.40m
www.adriansprints.com. Retrieved 2011-30-07. In 2011, Makusha was named the men's winner of

The Bowerman The Bowerman is an annual track and field award that is the highest accolade given to the year's best student-athlete in American collegiate track and field. It is named after Oregon track and field and cross country coach Bill Bowerman and is ...

which is awarded to the top collegiate track & field athlete of the year.Jessica Beard, Ngoni Makusha named winners of The Bowerman 2011

www.TheBowerman.org. Retrieved 2012-12-01.

Early career

He started his career in Seke, Mandedza high School, Zimbabwe .In July 2006 in Windhoek, Makusha achieved decent results in several events. In addition to 7.87 metres in the long jump, he jumped 14.90 metres in the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

, ran the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

in 10.64 seconds and the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

in 21.57 seconds. The next month he entered in both long jump and the 100 metres at the 2006 World Junior Championships. In the 100 metres, he reached the semi-final, where he was knocked out with a time of 10.84 seconds. He reached the final in the long jump event, but finished twelfth and last.. Retrieved on 1 February 2009. The next year he competed at the

2007 All-Africa Games The 9th All-Africa Games took place between 11 and 23 July 2007 in Algiers, the capital city of Algeria. Algiers is the first city to hold All-Africa Games for a second time. The 1978 All-Africa Games were held there. Besides Algeria, only Nig ...

, where he won a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay, together with his teammates

Gabriel Mvumvure Gabriel Mvumvure (born 23 February 1988) is a Zimbabwean sprinter. He represented his country at three outdoor and two indoor World Championships. Personal bests Outdoor *100 metres – 9.98 (+1.9 m/s, Montverde 2013) *200 metres – 20.67 ...

, Brian Dzingai and

Lewis Banda Lewis Simon Banda (born 16 September 1982 in Tshabalala) is a Zimbabwean sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. His personal best time is 44.58 seconds, achieved in May 2004 in Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames ...

. He also competed in long jump and 100 metres, achieving 7.69 metres and 10.52 seconds in the two events.

International breakthrough

For the 2007–08 indoor season, he enrolled at the Florida State University. He quickly improved his long jumping, recording 7.97 metres in March in Fayetteville. In May 2008 he finally broke the eight metre barrier, setting a new Zimbabwean record of 8.16 metres in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

. The next month he won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Championships held in

. The freshman did so with another Zimbabwean record, this time with 8.30 metres. He commented that "This is one of my dreams and it just came true". The victory was the first in any individual event at the NCAA championships for the Florida State University. It was also the best mark for the university as well as a stadium record. Makusha then represented Zimbabwe at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. In the long jump competition he secured a place in the final round with his first qualifying jump, which measured 8.14 metres. In the final round his first jump measured 8.19 metres. With this he was in the lead until the third round, when

Irving Saladino Irving Jahir Saladino Aranda (born January 23, 1983) is a Panamanian former long jumper. He was Olympic champion, having won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and is Panama's first and only Olympic gold medalist. He was world champion in the long j ...

jumped 8.21 metres. Makusha did not improve further, and was overtaken by Godfrey Khotso Mokoena and Ibrahim Camejo, who leapt 8.24 and 8.20 respectively. He thus finished fourth, while Saladino won the event with 8.34 metres. The 2008–09 indoor season saw Makusha achieving a personal best time in the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

, running in 6.68 seconds in January in Blacksburg. In February in the same city, he improved this to 6.60 seconds. He also jumped a national indoor record of 8.21 metres.

References

External links

*
Florida State Seminoles bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makusha, Ngonidzashe 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Mashonaland East Province Zimbabwean long jumpers Alumni of Churchill School (Harare) Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Zimbabwe Florida State Seminoles men's track and field athletes Zimbabwean expatriates in the United States World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for Zimbabwe Zimbabwean male sprinters Male long jumpers African Games bronze medalists for Zimbabwe African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 All-Africa Games