Ngoni Makusha was a diamond in the rough, a raw talent sprinting and long jumping in track meets in Zimbabwe.
And while it’s nearly 8,000 miles away, Florida State track and field assistant coach Ken Harnden received a tip that there was a talented athlete that he should take a look at.
Taking a trip to see a recruit on another continent isn’t easy, and it certainly is expensive. But for Harnden, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe, he knew when he went home over the summer that he could enjoy a vacation that was both business and pleasure.
The tip he received was from a trustworthy source. His mother, Sandi, had watched countless track meets when Ken was competing in the 400 meters in the 1980s and '90s. She could recognize talent.
And she saw it in Ngoni Makusha.
“My mom goes and watches every track meet, so I have pretty good sources,” Harnden said with a smile. “I hesitate to say that she does my recruiting for me, but she does a pretty good job.”
Harnden flew to Zimbabwe to see his parents and watched a number of track standouts. He knew right away that Makusha was a gifted sprinter who just needed coaching.
“I saw it in terms of his ability and being able to run, but wasn’t really sure with a long-jump perspective that we were getting what we really thought we were getting,” Harnden said.
Nobody could have guessed what Florida State would get. Makusha became a six-time NCAA champion in his three seasons at FSU. In his final year, he won three NCAA outdoor titles and took home the Bowerman Award, which is track's version of the Heisman Trophy.
And Makusha, who at one point didn’t have the money to fly from Zimbabwe to Tallahassee, is now a promising contender in both the 100 meters and long jump heading into the London Olympics.
A different world
The path to a championship is celebrated for the hours of hard work put in on the track, year after year of refining the technique that shaves a fraction of a second or helps carry an athlete an extra inch in the sand pit.
But the journey was tougher – and certainly more rewarding – for Makusha because of where he came from.
Makusha remembers just a few years ago, at the age of 18 or 19, that just getting to and from the track in Harare, Zimbabwe, was an ordeal.
“I had a coach, but we didn’t really have the facilities like we have here,” Makusha said. “(At FSU) we have a nice track and we have trainers. In Zimbabwe it was just a track with me and my coach. There’s no masseuse, there’s no athletic trainer, there’s no water and Powerade. There’s just water from the tap.
“And at the same time, I stayed so far away from the track. I stayed 30 minutes away. I had to commute every day to the track. And after practice I had to stand on the line for the bus and then be crowded on the bus going back home when I hadn’t eaten after practice. I was just punishing myself. . . . It’s just a different world.”
Makusha had an opportunity to leave that world and train in the United States. And while he wanted to go to college and be a student-athlete, there was also a sense that the US was quite different — and many miles from home.
But Florida State had Harnden and another excellent sprinter, Brian Dzingai, a native of Zimbabwe who had just finished a stellar college career at FSU and was still training in Tallahassee. So Florida State had made a comfortable outpost for Makusha, even though it was 8,000 miles from home.
“He’s like my little brother,” Dzingai said.
The safety net of having a coach and a friend at Florida State was there. And after Harnden met with Makusha’s parents, Rhoda and Andrew, any concerns were eased.
The difficult part of the journey was not mentally preparing for life in another hemisphere. It was just getting to Tallahassee.
A plane ticket from Zimbabwe to the US cost about $1,500. Harnden estimates that is approximately three months’ income in Zimbabwe. Makusha saved up his per diems from junior-level international track meets and borrowed money from family and friends.
“To some people it may seem like, ‘How much is the ticket?’ " Makusha said, knowing that for many people it’s a simple task of buying the ticket on a credit card. “For me it was a lot of money. I come from Zimbabwe, a third-world country, and during that time we had economic problems. My parents don’t even earn anything close to that.”
This is why Makusha appreciates everything — every aspect of what he has done since getting on that plane and coming to the US.
“Even starting to think about that and looking at how things worked out in the end, I just look back and praise the Lord,” Makusha said. “I’m thankful that I’m here now. My life has totally changed from humble beginnings. Sometimes it’s hard to paint the picture.”
Prominent performer
Makusha knew when he arrived in Tallahassee that he was comfortable in his new home. But at the same time, he wasn’t sure how he would perform as a sprinter or jumper.
It didn’t take long for coaches to realize just what they had in Makusha. He impressed jumps coach Dennis Nobles with his first leap in his first practice.
“Coach Nobles is about as baseline as you can get,” Harnden said. “There’s very little blip in the radar. And when he walks over with that smile on his face — my dad calls it a fishing smile — when I see that smile I know we have something special. All it took was one day in the sand, and he walked over with that smile, and we knew what we had.”
Said Nobles: “I just watched him move, and it was very obvious that he had some talent.”
The rest of the nation soon saw it, too. Makusha won the long jump at the NCAA outdoors in 2008 as a freshman and competed in the Beijing Games that summer. He tied for fourth in the long jump at 8.19 meters — missing a medal by just a centimeter.
“You just don’t go to the Olympics and place fourth as a freshman,” Nobles said. “He was special.”
Makusha kept stacking up titles, accumulating five NCAA outdoor and one NCAA indoor title in three years. But nothing compared to the breakthrough weekend last June at the NCAA outdoors when he won the 100, long jump and was part of Florida State's 4x100 relay team that finished first. Makusha had claimed three NCAA titles in two days.
He set the college record in the 100 — a blazing 9.89 seconds. And Makusha became the fourth man to win the 100 and the long jump, joining the likes of Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and DeHart Hubbard.
Track fans were able to watch Makusha’s performance in the US on TV and saw a talent who would again be an Olympian the following summer. In Zimbabwe, few people could see Makusha’s races or jumps.
“I think it took a while for people to actually know what he had done,” Dzingai said.
But word spread, and when it came time for online voting for the Bowerman Award, an overwhelming number of votes came from Zimbabwe.
Makusha’s exploits on the track put him in elite company in Zimbabwe along with swimmer Kirsty Coventry, who won a combined seven Olympic medals in 2004 and '08.
“It certainly put him on the radar as one of the premier athletes in Zimbabwe,” Harnden said. “These are the two best athletes our country has to offer.”
Good deeds
Makusha announced soon after his three wins that he would turn professional. But while Makusha would have the chance to sign a shoe contract and participate with the world’s best in international competitions, he also was staying in Tallahassee.
He decided to push forward with his studies and in December earned his degree in applied economics. He would live in Tallahassee and continue to train with Harnden and Nobles.
When he was still in college, Makusha didn’t spend his scholarship money like most students. What he needed to live on, he spent. But he made sure to send a significant portion home to help his parents and Ngoni’s five siblings.
One of the benefits of being a professional is that he could sign a shoe contract. The deal with Chinese manufacturer Li-Ning meant that Makusha could send more money back home to family. Makusha finally bought a car for himself, but only because he is sharing an off-campus apartment with Dzingai.
“Nothing’s changed,” Harnden said. “He’s the same kid.”
And he hasn’t forgotten what it was like to be kid in Zimbabwe. As part of his deal with Li-Ning, Makusha and his agent were able to negotiate a deal where he could purchase last year’s shoes for $1 per pair and provide them to youngsters back home.
“It’s a very small company,” Makusha said. “They are willing to grow. They have big dreams. They are dreaming out of their minds right now. I want to be part of that dream.
“We can go out there and we can give some young kids in need some sporting equipment as they prepare for their competitions. Doing good things first and then going to impact the world is very important.”
Let the games begin
The London Games start July 27, and Makusha could have quite an impact on three events this summer.
He has qualified in the long jump, but he technically has not qualified in the 100 meters yet (although a 10.11 sprint at the Folksam Grand Prix in Sweden in August should get him in). Makusha also could compete on Zimbabwe’s 4x100 relay team.
The challenge with the 100 is daunting — the field is crowded with the likes of Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, former FSU standout Walter Dix and even former Florida star Jeff Demps. Makusha acknowledges the challenge and the fact that he has been slowed recently by a hamstring injury.
He knows that his chances are better to reach the medal stand in the long jump, where he took a bronze at the World Championships in 2011. But Makusha isn’t willing to concede a thing when it comes to the 100.
“I have to really look at the long jump and say, ‘Maybe I have more of a chance of winning the long jump,’ " Makusha said. “But at the same time, I’m just leaving all of my options open. Why not? Why should I limit myself?”
Makusha’s career to this point has known no limits. He was discovered by the mother of a track assistant, raised money for a plane ticket to come to the U.S. and is known for his tireless work ethic that helped him win six NCAA titles.
He’s just 25, and despite accomplishing so much at such a young age, his best years on the track might be ahead of him.
“He’s one of the most special kids there is,” Harnden said. “He’s a talented athlete. He’s the hardest worker I know.”
