Karting's sweetheart

By Grace Chirumanzu

Tanya Muzinda gives her salute. Picture by Grace Chirumanzu

Tanya Muzinda’s march to the podium has left many boys weeping at Harare’s Donnybrook motor racing circuit.

Defeat is always a bitter pill to swallow in any sport, but the defeat by a girl in a male dominated motorsport boys and men have believed to be their territory, is unbearable to most boys.

But “girls can also do it”, Tanya appeared to have declared by her salute from her red kart during a training session last Thursday.

“I remember the first time I went to buy her a bike for motocross, the man who sold it to me did so gladly encouraging me to bring my daughter to the race so that his son who had always been last could have someone behind him during races. But guess who she beat when she first raced?” Her proud father, Tawanda Muzinda laughed as he explained, “I have heard little boys arguing that she is a boy each time she beats them and her short hair seems to confirm it for them.”

It was Muzinda’s friend, a big name in motorsport, Big Chitima who encouraged him to introduce his child to the sport about two years ago. Chitima however did not know his friend’s eldest child was a girl and she has lived more than to the expectations of many so far, making good friends with Chitima’s seven-year-old son, Big Junior “B.J”.

Tanya, who is yet to turn eight years this year, is a Grade Three student at Eaglesvale School. Her ability to ride a manual Honda 50cc bike in the Peewee category whose most competitors use auto bikes has amazed her father.

She is currently second on the riders’ standings out of 10 competitors. Being the only girl has made her the centre of attraction as she inspires other little girls of her age.

“She is a brave girl. The way she is organized and determined is just amazing. She gives me a reason to empower women. It is at this age they need to know that nothing can stop them just because they are girls. If she can beat the boys she knows nothing can stop her,” said Muzinda.

“It takes a lot of sacrifices in this sport. I want her to grow up to be a professional woman and be a champion. This will take the determination from us as her parents and the help from the corporate world through sponsorship.”

It is the expenses of the equipment and the resources required in this elite sport that has scared many away. The costs of the karts’ imported spare parts alone can be a nightmare.

“I bought her first bike for $2 000 and the whole kit for $900 not because I had so much money to spare but because I had made her a promise, which she kept reminding me every day. You do such sacrifices with eyes closed knowing that it will leave you into poverty, but it always come to pass and the investment one will have put in her kid will live forever,” explained Muzinda.

Apart from her own father, Tanya has the support of her coach Scott Kim and friend B.J. They have made Donnybrook their home for sport and leisure hanging out after practice.

This weekend the home for motorsport will be filled with activities as youngsters compete in motocross and kart races.

Tanya will wear her red costume and helmet for a date in the karts tomorrow with his father hoping to see her poking some more tears in the eyes of her young male opponents.

“She has only been practicing with the karts for three months now and she has shown great improvement. Her time at the beginning was 1minute eight seconds and she has come down to 55seconds,” he said. “It will be great if she keeps improving.”

Davies’ glittering history

1980 Olympic gold medalist.
Picture by Priviledge Musvanhiri

By Grace Chirumanzu

The year is 1980, the city is Moscow and it is the Olympic Games. Zimbabwe women have just made it into the finals against Austria to claim their first gold medal at the global sports gala.

“It was such an amazing feeling winning; there we were when first time hockey was ever played at the Olympics, Zimbabwe was in it and we won an Olympic gold medal,” said Chisipite School hockey coach, Trish Davies, who was the team’s left half.

They were invited to the Games just to make up numbers after some countries like West Germany, Netherlands, Australia and the United States boycotted the showcase prior to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

The Zimbabweans, who had no international experience to talk about, surprised even themselves by snatching victories that included a sweet 2-0 against the hosts in the six-team round-robin competition.

The 15-member Zimbabwean women team that was confined to just playing competitions against apartheid South Africa saw their dream come true with the coming of Independence in 1980.

So, for a country that had never really played the game at any such high-profile event, being in the finals was a historic achievement in itself.

“When we left we didn’t even know how to play on astro-turf and there were teams that were a lot quicker than us but we still managed to win. Yes, there were countries that didn’t come but that’s their hard luck,” Davies laughs as she recalls.

“We beat Russia who were training for four years and we trained for three months; that was the biggest thing. We played Austria in the final match, if we had lost it we were going to win silver and a draw was going to give us bronze. By half time we were 3-0 up and we sort of knew this was ours. In the second half we were smiling and started playing defensive hockey; but we were not going to let them come near us.”

The team was welcomed to a joyful function by the country’s then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, and flowered with congratulatory messages from fellow Zimbabweans who saw their victory as an icing on the hot cake of independence.

The gold medal has been written in the country’s history books but for Davies and her teammates who include Anthea Stuarts, Sarah English, Christine Prinsloo, Patricia McKillop, the memories are still fresh in their minds.

The hockey team’s gold medal is one of Zimbabwe’s eight to date. The other seven that include one gold, two bronze and four silvers were won by the country’s swimming sensation Kirsty Coventry in Anthens, Greece and Beijing, China.

Besides coaching hockey, Davies is now into bowling. She was crowned the national Masters Tournament champion, last year.

Resurgence of the Blacks legend

By Grace Chirumanzu

Joseph Black Picture by Grace Chirumanzu

Six-year-old Joseph and Brooke Black (4) have just the right coach, the support and future plans any tennis star needs to relive the legacy of the Black brothers Zimbabwean fans reminisce of today.

The son and daughter of tennis legend, Wayne Black, have the guidance of their parents to take them through every step of the way to greatness.

Black who is married to her sister Cara’s former doubles partner, Kazakhstan-born Irina Selyutina believes it is the duty of parents to raise their kids into professional players.

"We are getting them to play tennis now. My dream for them is to make them as tennis professionals, it is a good lucrative life if one can do well,” said Black.

“We try to spend an hour a day with them. Most of our afternoons are evolving around tennis; watching tennis is not fun so we will be playing. We have a generation of my dad’s knowledge now and a generation of my knowledge to pass to our kids. With that accumulation of knowledge hopefully we can make them better than we were.”

Brooke Black strikes a backhand Picture by Grace Chirumanzu

Young Joseph’s love for the sport he was introduced to by his parents is unmistakable. The Hellenic Schoolboy kept calling for his father to serve a harder ball and not go easy on him during a session at his grandmother’s spacious home in Mandara.

"He loves playing with the big boys at his school,” said Wayne. Joseph said he wanted to beat Samuel, his young tennis idol at school. Brooke, who is still in nursery school, returned his father’s service with back-hand strikes of a young professional. “How high they can go we don’t know because the problem with this country is that we don’t have enough kids playing at the moment so they may not get much competition. So, it is going to be expensive for us to keep sending them outside to play. It is another expense added to tennis. But we are going to do our best and make sure that they hit 10 000 balls before they are 18,” said the former doubles partner to Kevin Ullyet.

Wayne grew up in a tennis family with his late father Don and mother Velia playing a vital role in his development together with older brother Byron and sister Cara.

With countryman Ullyett, Black won two men's doubles titles, the US Open in 2001 and Australian Open in 2005.  They finished in the top five for five seasons. Wayne also won two Grand Slam mixed doubles with sister Cara.

Their dance in the elite World Group as Team Zimbabwe saw the local fans enjoy some good tennis featuring world-class players such as Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.  

His wife, Irina, briefly played on the WTA tour after partnering Cara to the Wimbledon Junior doubles title in 1997.

“My dad did all the work with us. He put in three hours of work with us; if you times that with days and years and accumulate those hours, it will be ridiculous the hours he spent playing with us. That’s just how much time it takes to become a tennis player, these days it is an elite game that is specialised. Instead of coaching other kids to make money he put all that time into us,” he recalled.

“Unless as parents or unless there is a full time coaching system where kids can play all the time and have the facilities, it is very difficult to produce tennis players.

“Parents are not as tough on their kids anymore, they are letting their kids do what they want and figure it out for themselves when they are older but that’s too late because kids need to hit 10 000 balls before they are 18 (years old). So if one has not done the ground work or the basics by the time you are a teenager one will never make it as a tennis player. Parents have to do it. The tennis Association can set up an Academy but it takes a lot of money and they will have to choose on five or ten kids and focus on them. But who is to say they are the right kids to choose and parents will come asking why their kids are not being picked.”

Black who admits “feeling nostalgia when watching Wimbledon” admits there is young talent in Zimbabwe that needs some serious nurturing.

“We have some nice juniors and some nice young professionals coming up and hopefully they can find that next level. There are a lot of good players but it is the mental jump to go to the next level, so if they can handle it mentally and if they want it bad enough they will definitely make it,” he said.

“I hope to groom my two little ones because obviously I will spend more time with them than any other kids. I am coaching six kids at the moment and also at a school but obviously I only see them one or two hours a week so it is difficult to have a very big impact on their careers.

“I do hope Tadiwa Chinyama makes it, I see him three times a week and he plays very good tennis. He is showing very good promise and he is great hope for the future.”

Wayne and wife Irina serve balls for their kids Joseph and Brooke. Picture by Grace Chirumanzu.