September 19, 2024
An Olympic-level reflection from former C-N Track National Champion Charamba
Before his first NCAA Division II National Championship meet, the nerves were getting to then Carson-Newman University freshman sprinter Makanakaishe Charamba. Then C-N head track coach David Needs, now the Director of the Eagle Club, had the fix up his sleeve. Or, more specifically, in his Holy Bible.
BY: Adam Greene, For Carson-Newman Athletics
From Mossy Creek to Paris
Before his first NCAA Division II National Championship meet, the nerves were getting to then Carson-Newman University freshman sprinter Makanakaishe Charamba. Then C-N head track coach David Needs, now the
Director of the Eagle Club, had the fix up his sleeve. Or, more specifically, in his Holy Bible.
Joshua 1:9 reads in the New International Version translation, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with your wherever you go."
"Wherever you go, it means at nationals, at warm-ups, it means in the blocks, it means when you run," Needs told Charamba. "Maka, God brought you here. He's with you while you're here. You could see his posture change and that he was ready to go."
Indeed, he was. It was Charamba's first outdoor nationals meet. He'd only been in the United States for a few months, but the message from Needs, from scripture, resonated. He would go on to win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.36 and a the 200-meter dash with a time of 21:02. A year before, he was running on dirt and grass tracks in Zimbabwe. Now, two years later, he's the eighth fastest man on Planet Earth and ran against the world's best in the 200-meter final in the 2024 Olympic Games.
"It was a big accomplishment," Charamba said. "This was my first international individual championship (event). I think I have more in the tank. There's more to come."
Of that, no one has any doubt for the 22 year-old former NCAA Division II Champion. Charamba had only left the continent of Africa one time prior to setting foot on the Carson-Newman campus in 2021. He participated in an international event in Poland, but had never been to the United States. Luckily, his talents had not gone unnoticed in North America.
It was then University of Tennessee sprint coach, Ken Harnden, who first proposed that the young Zimbabwean runner could find a place at the DII University in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
"Ken said there's a guy, he's a little raw, he's real tall and he's got a lot of positives, but we can't take him at Tennessee," Needs said. "He's running what a fast high schooler would run, but he knew he had a lot of talent. He knew we had done a good job of developing sprinters, and if he (Charamba) develops, maybe down the road in his junior or senior year, we'll see about getting a transfer and give him an opportunity."
That "opportunity" would turn out to be a crowning achievement for Needs, his successor and then assistant coach Kieran Showler-Davis and the man brought him to their attention, Herndon, who now coaches Charamba at Auburn after the sprinter's historic and
storied two seasons at Mossy Creek.
But Charamba's rise was not without tragedy. Just a few months into his time at C-N, his mother, Rudo-Grace Charamba, passed away back home in Zimbabwe. Charamba returned home to grieve with his family, not knowing if he would return. It was his older sister, Komborero, who convinced him to come back and chase his dreams.
"She (Komborero) told me, 'This is a great opportunity for you,'" Charamba said. "She thought I was supposed to come back. They trusted coach Kieran (Showler-Davis) and that he could take me to the next level and he did."
It was that relationship with Showler-Davis, now Carson-Newman's head track and field coach, that grounded Charamba, made him feel at home at Carson-Newman, and ultimately propelled him to the Olympic final on the biggest stage in track and field.
"The bond that me and Coach Kieran created started from the day I stepped on campus," Charamba said. "He was like, 'I'm going to take care of you.' From there, I just trusted him and he believed in me. It was more than on the track. Outside of track, he made sure my classes were good. He's a few years older than me, but he's almost in my generation. I think that's how our bond was created."
Showler-Davis feels the same, recalling the many days he and Charamba would spend talking not only about track and field, but about life in his office.
"He (Charamba) was very coachable," Showler-Davis said. "It was like he was a younger brother. He was very open with me on what he was thinking. He'd come into my office and sometimes sit there the whole day chatting with me. It was pretty much daily. He would always talk about track and life in general. That's how we got so close, that time we spent together. The things we talked about in my office came to life."
They came to life on the track. After a lackluster start to his career in indoor portion of the season, Charamba became a national force once the outdoor campaign began in the spring of 2022. Running on an actual track was still new to the African freshman.
"In Zimbabwe, we don't even have indoor (track) so it was all new to me," Charamba said. "It was hard for me to run the turns because they were so tight. Things were not going according to plan, but when it came to outdoors, it was the thing for me. It was what I was used to, so I trusted Coach Kieren to see what happens."
What happened was the beginning of something special. A man no one outside of Mossy Creek knew existed a few months before would take second in the 100-yard and 200-yard runs at the Lee Invitational. He would help the 4x100 relay team take the gold five times in the outdoor season and claim eight individual first place finishes in the 100 and 200 races. He would take home All-American honors in the 100, 200 and 4x100 relay by the end of his freshman campaign. It was a quick turnaround for a runner that had the talent, but not the tools, when he arrived on campus in the fall.
"I assumed he knew a lot about track, technique and how to run his race, but when he got here, you realized he was very raw," Showler-Davis said. "And that was exciting, because you knew you could make some progress if he listened in and worked at his craft. That's exactly what he did. He was a different athlete when he won nationals. That's all you want as a coach is to see progression in people. I always say I'll take someone who works hard over someone who's talented and doesn't work hard, but when you get that combination together, then that's what you see with Maka right now."
The rewards were almost immediate after that spring outdoor season, not just for Charamba, but for
Carson-Newman, Needs and Showler-Davis. But it all started with the personal relationships formed between the coaches and the athlete they had been picked to mentor.
"If you're worried about the results, then you're worried about things you can't control," Needs said. "We didn't know Maka was going to be an Olympian when we started, but if you do the little things right every day and you invest in an athlete's life, and let it be an every day relationship and not just an end result relationship, then your joy comes every day. And when you get to see moments like this and know you were a part of it, it's just that much more special. It's so much joy. It's like the Apostle Paul said, 'I fought the good fight, I've finished the race.'"
There were plenty of races left for Charamba at Carson-Newman. Already on Herndon's radar at Tennessee, Needs knew other colleges would be eager to grab his young and developing sprinter. While the goal was always to move on, Charamba wasn't done running for the Orange and Blue just yet.
"He (Charamba) told me he wanted to win a National Championship at Carson-Newman," Needs said. "I told him, we want you too, too. He said, 'Coach I want you to know that I'm committed.' And I told him, I'd already seen him win the national championship this year. 'I know what your talent is. I know where your heart is. You're going to win the National Championship this year.'"
And then Charamba did just that.
In the 2023 season, Charamba became the National Champion in the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 20:44. He was al an All-American in the 60-meter run with a time of 6.82. At the South Atlantic Conference Finals he took first place in the 60 and 200, recording five first place finishes on the indoor season.
He repeated his dominance in the outdoor campaign, winning a national title in the 100 with a 10:02 and 200 with a 20:19, adding it to his trophy case along with another All-American nod in the 4x100 relay and SAC tiles in the 100 and 200 to go with six first place finishes on the season.
It was clear after that ascendant season that Charamba would move on, following his first mentor, fellow Zimbabwean Ken Harnden, who had taken the sprint coach position at Auburn. That had been the plan and it had worked out for everyone involved.
"We pride ourselves on bringing people in and progressing them," Showler-Davis said. "People see that and I think it's huge from a recruiting standpoint. Guys like Maka in the program and do big things. They'll see the schools they might have gone to and that could be huge for Carson-Newman track and field."
But Auburn and the Southeastern Conference track and field championships weren't Charamba's final destination. He had other goals in mind. And, after qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics, he got to live the dream. As did his coaches, Needs and Showler-Davis.
For Needs, who wrapped up his career as arguably the greatest head track coach in Carson-Newman history, having an Olympian compete was a crowning achievement.
"I've been to 26 national championships as a player or as a coach," Needs said. "None of them ever got old or routine. It's a unique experience, but when I watched him (Charamba) run in the Olympics, it was the exclamation point at the end of a sentence. We poured so much into this young man, not just because he had talent, but because he was somebody that needed a mentor, a friend a someone to hold him accountable. He had so much talent, we knew that someday, he could do this. We thought it would be (in the XXXIV Olympiad in 2028) in L.A. (Los Angeles), but we watched him and knew that he was our guy. It made it so much better and special."
For Showler-Davis, just starting his own head track coaching journey, his experience and friendship with Charamba will always be special.
"I'm not an emotional guy, my wife would tell you that, but seeing and hearing his name called after the quarterfinal and we're waiting to see if he got a spot in the final, I teared up and cried a little," Showler-Davis said. "That was significant for someone who's not an emotional person. It was awesome. I was messaging Coach Ken (Herndon) at Auburn and he said, 'Congratulations on your first Olympian.'"
But there was still a race to run. Charamba got though qualifying and his time was good enough to land in the Olympic final. It was his first Olympics, maybe a tad earlier than anyone expected to achieve such a feat, and the nerves hit the 22 year-old. To combat them, he contacted his old Carson-Newman coaches.
"The Olympics are the biggest thing you can do in track and field," Showler-Davis said. "So, I tried to help him take the size out of it. It's the same 200 meters that he ran his whole life. Just because it's the Olympics, the track isn't any longer. It's the same race he's ran for years. He's always stepped up in championships. I think the nerves were good for him. He just executed his race."
It was because of that focus that Charamba was able to enjoy the entire experience, entering the Parade of Nations with his countrymen, but more importantly, touring Paris with his sister, Komborero, who made the trip to cheer him on after pushing him to continue his track career at C-N two three years before.
"Seeing the Eifel Tower glowing in the evening. we were in the boats, seeing the glow of the Olympic Rings," Charamba said. "I met so many different people. That stood out to me and the walk with my sister downtown. She came to watch me at the games. Seeing how great Paris is as a city, I'll always remember it."
Watching Charamba run in the Olympic 200-meter final is something that Needs, and his dog, will not soon forget either.
"My dog didn't like it at all, because I was yelling at the screen," Needs said. "I'm watching and coaching him as he left the blocks and the dog thought someone was breaking into the house. But I was watching him with pride."
At 22, Charamba has a long career ahead of him. The preparation for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028 started almost the minute he left the track in Paris and his eighth place finish in the 200-meter final. He's put down a sub 20 second time before, and it will take that to land on a medal stand, but the prime of his career is still ahead of him.
"I think the sky's the limit to be honest," Showler-Davis said. "He has all the physical attributes to be one of the best in the world. If he can sort some technical things out and it will happen over time and years of training, he can be one of the best in the world. He'll be in his prime in his next Olympics. I'm excited to see what he'll do in his future."
And while medals and international recognition happen because of his talents, Charamba has not forgotten what he enjoys most about running and competing. It's joy, celebrating his God-given talent.
"As an athlete, we don't get satisfied with what we do. But I know I'm on the right track and with my coaches and people in corner, it means that my career is going in the right direction," Charamba said. "The next time I'm on the Olympic track, I'm shooting for a medal. There's a lot of motivation behind it. Now I know what I need to be at the top. This was an eye-opener for me. I just want to get onto the track and have fun."
