HIGHLY-rated Zimbabwean triple and long jumper, Brian Mada looks to have wasted no time in settling in at his new United States base, winning his first two competitions for DePaul University recently.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
The 19-year-old former St Faith’s Mission student in Rusape made his collegiate debut last month at the Hoosier Open and collected the Big East Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honour after his top-three performance.
The talented freshman opened his indoor season with a mark of 14,72 metres in the triple jump event back on December 11 and took third place for his efforts.
That distance ranked first in the Big East conference by more than three feet and 69th nationally, although it was not his personal best jump of 15,65m, which he leapt on his way to winning a gold medal at the Region V Games in December 2014.
The promising national triple jump champion continued his dream start to his US college career, with another impressive win last weekend at the Notre Dame Invitational. Mada secured the lone victory of the meet for his college when he recorded a season-high mark of 14,94 meters in the men’s triple jump.
The freshman was fourth in the long jump (collegiate debut in the event) after registering a distance of 6,86 metres.
His performances earned him praises from his coach, Dave Dopek, who reckons he has a bright future ahead of him in the sport.
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“Brian is a very talented young man from Zimbabwe,” DePaul University head track and field coach, Dave Dopek said.
“While the triple jump is his specialty, I look forward to seeing him improve (in both jumps), as he acclimates himself to how we practice and compete here.
“With his tremendous upside, I believe that Brian is capable of having a very special season.”
Mada was last year awarded a scholarship to study economics at the Chicago university following his performance at the All-Africa Junior Champion Games in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The four-year grant provided Mada with an opportunity to hone his talent, while also competing in the highly competitive National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division One.
