The Sunday News
ABEL Nkhoma the man tasked with carrying the newly independent Zimbabwe’s flag at the 1980 Olympics says he was excited with the attainment of majority rule.
Getting to be a flag bearer is a moment he will always cherish.
“That stands as a proud moment for me. I was chosen to carry the Zimbabwe flag at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. I have been to the podium but leading my fellow countrymen was a great feeling,” said Nkhoma on Thursday as he spoke to Sunday Life while at the funeral of a man he called “dad” Jeremiah Ganizani Banda.
He spoke with a heavy heart of a sport and athletics community that has turned its back on him.
“I had to sell my car to raise money to bury my father. Athletics has turned its back on me, my friends from athletics are nowhere to be seen. There is no benefit in being called an athletics legend,” said Nkhoma.
At Independence Nkhoma had won the Matopos 33-Miler thrice and several other competitions.
He was the hottest property in an era where Patrick Chipoyi, Freddie Kashiri, Jacob Ndiweni and Lazwell Ngoma rated among the best in distances from 21km to 65km in the country.
Nkhoma said they looked forward to competing internationally. Prior to Independence he had only been to South Africa and Swaziland.
So independent Zimbabwe offered sportspersons a new lease of life.
Avenues were opened for the athletes to compete against all countries of the world, venturing into African, Commonwealth and Olympic Games bigger stages for podium material athletes.
“It’s every athlete’s dream to compete for your country. Independence was good for all sportspersons, indeed a welcome development,” he said.
Nkhoma believes legends should be honoured, celebrated in life and not through beautiful graveside eulogies.
A pensioner who resides in Bindura in Mashonaland Central Province was forced to retire because of illness.
In his retirement Nkhoma has worked with athletes such as Mike Fokorani, Manonoko Masiyiwa and Julia Sakala.
He has over the years assisted Mashonaland Central, National Association Secondary School Heads and National Association of Primary School Heads (Naph and Nash) athletes.
He is disappointed that he was not invited to accompany the Naph team to Masvingo and Nash to Victoria Falls for the athletics finals on Wednesday and Thursday.
“There are so many athletes I worked with after retiring in 1994 who I coached to prominence through the Chamber of Mines,” said Nkhoma.
He described the collapse of mines as a catastrophe to the Zimbabwean sport.
“Mines were the cornerstone of Zimbabwe sport and the Chamber of Mines Championships must be re-introduced gradually with the involvement of those few mines that can afford. As the situation improves on the economic end, many more can always come on board,” said Nkhoma, a Matopos 33-Miler legend with over three triumphs and several top five finishes.
Born in Cam and Motor (Rio Tinto in Kadoma) on 3 December 1961, Nkhoma attended primary school there.
“I was never anywhere near the sports fields during those days. My focus was singing, I was part of the choir and I enjoyed it,” said Nkhoma.
For his secondary school he went to Mutorashanga where he would not finish because of the untimely death of his stepfather forcing him to return to Cam and Motor Mine.
He started running in 1976, doing it for fun every morning until he met legend Musaope Phiri, winner of over a dozen marathons in Zimbabwe.
Phiri too was part of the Moscow Olympics Zimbabwe contingent.
“I then started running with Phiri who was older and more experienced who would introduce me to the mine’s Harry Stobbart who was the club coach at Cam and Motor.
“My first race was 16km Kamfisa Road Race in Harare in 1977 and I was second and there begun my long journey in the sport. The winner was Ronnie Hill who came from the UK and the third spot went to an athlete from Mhangura,” said Nkhoma.
Sadly for their sweat those days there was no prize money and one was lucky to get a voucher or hamper. He earned himself a tracksuit for doing well in the Kamfisa race.
His next race was a near disaster. He finished ninth in the OK Half-Marathon. He said he was not disheartened by his poor finish but felt the urge to work harder.
He was to run almost two dozens of races between 1977 and 1979 with a memorable one being the Trojan Mine 21km in which he finished second behind the legendary Tapfumaneyi Jonga.
Nkhoma paid tribute to athletics greats of that era Zephaniah Ncube, Jonga, Phiri, Lazwell Ngoma and Kenias Tembo.
“The track athletes were just as good in terms of competitiveness as their counterparts in road running,” he said.
Rio Tinto gave Nkhoma a job and he had the comfort of running for the mine knowing there was bread on the table for the family at the end of the day.
“So with participating in the Chamber of Mines, athletes were assured of jobs. That was the biggest motivation for us,” said Nkhoma.
He won the prized Matopos 33-Miler on three consecutive occasions from 1978. In 1979 he had a first taste of international competition finishing second in a full marathon in Swaziland.
But the 1980 Matopos 33-Miler came with probably his biggest win, a ticket to take part in the Comrades Marathon for which he had his first airplane ride.
Unknown to him his efforts and potential had caught national selectors and he was literally forced to go to Moscow for the Olympics.
“With winning the Matopos carried a prize of flying to Durban to run the Comrades in June. Little did I know I was in the list of those selected for Moscow (then the Soviet Union). After running 89km I was sapped of all the energy and my body needed to rest for several months before another big race.
“The authorities said I would not be left out for Zimbabwe’s first participation. I was given the honours to be the flag bearer there,” said Nkhoma, who would later finish the Moscow Marathon in a position outside the top 200 which he has even forgotten.
“My body was tired, was worn out from the Swaziland Marathon which I had done in 2 hours 27 minutes, the 33-Miler and Comrades all within a calendar year,” said the athlete who represented Zimbabwe in other international events especially the regional marathons involving countries from the Sadc with relative success.
“We ran for fun and for our jobs. There was no prize money at all when we started. In the Chamber of Mines we were given blankets for first position, second had shirts while third assured one of a pair of stockings. Nowadays road runners are professionals making a living from running without even worrying about a mine to employ them,” said Nkhoma, a widower with two sons left after two other children, daughters died.
Over the years he has been one of Mashonaland Central’s coaches at the Zimbabwe Youth Games.
