Tarakinyu chases Olympic dream
MOSES Tarakinyu is a man on a mission.
He has shattered many national half and ultra-marathon records.
The 25-year-old has dominated the track for the past two years, winning every event he has contested.
And he is not showing any signs of tiring.
But he wants the icing on the cake. Olympic qualification has always been his dream.
He knows what participation in the quadrennial jamboree does to his resume.
“It is the ultimate section that makes an athlete’s book complete,” Tarakinyu said.
“I have broken records in the past few years winning most of the main races including half marathons and the marathons proper.
“But I know there is a box that I have to tick to be complete.
“My athletics story can only be enriched by attaining this Olympics dream. This is what I am chasing for this year”.
Tarakinyu has only one chance to nail a place at the world’s biggest sporting fiesta. He has to clock 2:08:50 in the 42.2km Durban International marathon on April 28 to be part of the cast at the Paris Showdown midthis year.
“That the Durban International Marathon will be the only chance for me to make it to France makes it very fragile.
“But I believe in myself.
I am a warrior and I will do everything to punch the ticket to the Olympics,” he said.
“I know it will be very difficult but I have all the time to perfect my art.
“I have two, three months to prepare for the decisive marathon.
“I am raring to go and I know if I invest in my training, I will make it happen”.
The Black Rhinos athlete has already passed a confidence-boosting result in the 10km Silvestre de Luanda in Angola on New Year’s Eve.
Despite struggling to put resources together for this race, Tarakinyu still managed to pick silver after posting a commendable 29:54, just 12 seconds behind Namibian winner Daniel Paulus who had 29:32.
Tarakinyu was even faster than highly-rated Kenyan Okei Lekakeny who at 30:24 could only slice bronze.
And the Zimbabwean long-distance runner says the Angola event helped him start the New Year with renewed hope.
“My 2024 resolutions are very simple but gigantic.
I just have to qualify for the Olympics.
Once I do that, every other resolution will fall into place.
“That’s how important it is for me to secure qualification for Paris 2024.
“It is every athlete’s dream to compete at the Olympics.
“I am someone with so much ambition. I am daring to dream and I am very optimistic that I will achieve the dream”.
The Marondera-bred athlete has a modest background where he picked the drive as a way of fighting poverty. As push came to shove after the separation of his disabled mother and father, Tarakinyu was facing the grim prospect of dropping out of school.
However, he resorted to farming for him to be able to continue with his studies.
He picked some endurance from the continuous hard labour involved in farming and little did he know the quality would form the basis of his career.
And he will script an intriguing piece if he manages to rise to the occasion on April 28.