Carlie Makarawu Sprints to 200m Olympic Final

Former NMJC T&F star Tapiwanashe (Carlie) Makarawu advanced to the 200m Final at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The 23-year-old ran a 20.16 to earn the coveted top non-automatically qualifying time when he placed third in the final heat Wednesday night. The top two runners automatically advance to the final and the next two best times throughout the three heats advance in the seventh and eighth spot.

Makarawu had an incredible start to the race coming off the blocks with the quickest reaction time of Heat 3 at .139 seconds. Following the turn, Makarawu had the lead over Erriyon Knighton and Joseph Fahnbulleh at the 100m mark with them closing the gap with 30m to go. The final 10m Makarawu ran out of steam and was overtaken by Knighton and Fahnbulleh as he neared the finish line.

Knighton recorded a 20.09 first-place finish and Fahnbulleh registered a 20.12 second-place finish to edge Makarawu by .04 seconds.        

The seven-time national champion will compete in the 200m Final on NBC/Peacock Thursday, Aug. 8 at 12:30 p.m. MDT inside the Stade de France. 

Makarawu and fellow countryman Makanakaishe Charamba both advanced to the final with the seventh and eighth best times in the three heats. Charamba finished third in Heat 2 with a time of 20.31. 

The duo are the first Zimbabwean sprinters to make a 200m Final in the country's 44-year history. Makarawu is just the second T-Bird to ever make a final in an Olympic event and the first to accomplish the feat in the 200m. 

Former NMJC T&F sprinter Guy Abrahams finished fifth in the 100m dash for team Panama in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.  

Team Zimbabwe's Charamba will be in Lane 2 and Makarawu will occupy Lane 3 during the final. The sprinters from Zimbabwe are the first two 200m runners to make an Olympic Final.

Makarawu is familiar with Lane 3 as he ran in the same lane during Round 1 of the 200m. There he finished second in his heat running a 20.07.

Edit: Due to a protest from Kenny Bednarek, Makarawu and Charamba have switched lanes with Makarawu in Lane 2 and Charamba in Lane 3. 

Lane 4 is held down by Alexander Ogando of the Dominican Republic. Ogando made the final as the second-place finisher of Heat 1 with a time of 20.09.

Lane 5 will be the 100m gold medal champion Noah Lyles. The American finished second in Heat 2 with a time of 20.08. Lane 6 is Erriyon Knighton of the United States. Knighton was the Heat 3 winner with a 20.09.

Lane 7 is Botswana's Letsile Tebogo who won Heat 2 with a top Semi-Final time of 19.96.

In Lane 8 will be Heat 3 winner Kenny Bednarek of the United States. Bednarek ran a 20.00 in the Semi-Final and is also a junior college graduate that hails from Indian Hills. 

Joseph Fahnbulleh of Liberia will nab the outside lane. Fahnbulleh runs in the ninth and final lane after placing second in Heat 3 with a 20.12 finish.

Carlie Makarawu sets his sights for a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic 200m Finals Thursday, Aug. 8 at 12:30 p.m. MDT live on NBC/Peacock.