Athletics legend, Artwell Mandaza, has died. His death was confirmed by his son Durai Mandaza who told ZBC News that his father died of a heart attack at Nzvimbo village in Chiweshe on Monday morning.
The late hockey and sports administrator Mark Manolis, who was Zimbabwe’s Chef de Mission at the 1984 Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, US, once described Mandaza as an incredible advert for local athletics. He said:
Artwell is a legend and a very humble person. He was idolised for running under 10 seconds which at that time was a rarity.
Mandaza ran 100m in 9,9 seconds in Welkom, South Africa in 1970, the first African and fourth black person to do so South of the Equator.
He reportedly died in penury at his rural village and had nothing to show for his extraordinary achievements as a high profile athlete.