After tearing his Hamstring at the same event last season, US-based Zimbabwean Chengetayi Mapaya triple jumped 17.26m over the weekend at the NCAA Championships event in Eugene, Oregon. It’s the fourth-best in the world this year and qualifies him for the World Championships.
"Last year I tore my hamstring at the same competition so this was my comeback season, feels amazing post-event honestly. And this is my last time jumping at TCU so it's just been a long journey," he said in this post-event interview.
Before joining the Texas Christian University Mapaya attended St Georges College in Harare where he won the gold medal in the triple jump at the African Junior Championships, recording an African junior record 16.30m jump. To qualify for the championships, Mapaya jumped 16.01m to win gold at the Southern Region championships.
"Last year I tore my hamstring at the same competition so this was my comeback season, feels amazing post-event honestly. And this is my last time jumping at TCU so it's just been a long journey," he said in this post-event interview.
US-based Zimbabwean triple jumper Chengetayi Mapaya jumped 17.26m last night at an NCAA event in Eugene. It’s the fourth-best in the world this year, and qualifies him for the World Championships. @du_airlines pic.twitter.com/G6TSbWy24M
— Steve Vickers (@SteveVickers5) June 11, 2022
Mapaya earned the national runner-up spot in the triple jump at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Mapaya's mark (16.95m / 55-7.5) broke Ndabazihle Mdhlongwa's Zimbabwe indoor triple jump record from 1998 (16.89m), as well as Texas Christian University's school record. His jump also noted a new indoor personal best for the Harare, Zimbabwe, native.
The senior's previous best indoor jump was 16.85m (55-3.5) at the Texas Tech Shootout which set a TCU record earlier this year. One jump was all Mapaya needed to take the Big 12 triple jump crown. The senior leaped 16.55m (54-3.75) on his first attempt and passed on his final four.
Before joining the Texas Christian University Mapaya attended St Georges College in Harare where he won the gold medal in the triple jump at the African Junior Championships, recording an African junior record 16.30m jump. To qualify for the championships, Mapaya jumped 16.01m to win gold at the Southern Region championships.
Mapaya won gold at the 2016 African Union Sports Council Region 5 Under-20 Youth Games in Angola with his 15.42m leap in the triple jump and earned silver in the long jump where he reached 6.83 meters. Mapaya is the Annual National Sports Awards (ANSA) Junior Sportsman of the Year silver medalist.
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