Ngonidzashe Makusha joined the Drake track and field staff in August, 2017, after serving as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater, Florida State while competing internationally since 2012.
While coaching at FSU, Makusha helped mentor the Atlantic Coast Conference triple jump and long jump champion and runner-up. His student-athletes also qualified for NCAA Championships three times and earned three All-America honors.
As a competitor, Makusha was one of track and field’s most decorated student-athletes. In 2011, he set the NCAA 100-meter record at 9.89, a record that stood until the spring of 2017. In 2011, he was also the winner of the Bowerman Award, collegiate track and field’s equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, and was named the NCAA Male Athlete of the Year. That same year, he won both the 100 meters and long jump at the NCAA Championships at Drake Stadium to give him a total of seven career NCAA titles.
Makusha’s success at the international level came primarily in the long jump where he finished fourth in the 2008 Olympics representing his native Zimbabwe.
In 2011, he was the bronze medalist in the long jump at the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Makusha owns the Zimbabwe’s national records in both the 100 meters (9.89) and long jump (8.40m/27-6.75).
