Bernard Dzoma

Career As A Carpenter

He was a carpenter in the Rothmans organisation and was given time to train, but he could not run in league meetings because he was not a member of a club affiliated to the Mashonaland Amateur Athletics Board. His own attempts to form a club in Harare foundered and the two established clubs in the city — Rhodes and Churchill — at that time had whites only constitutions. As a result, Dzoma left the city and joined Rio Tinto Mine as a carpenter.

Career As A Runner

He began athletics seriously in 1966 and one of his first races was the three miles in the Mashonaland championships. Without proper shorts — he wore khaki — and never having worn spikes, he ran barefoot to gain the provincial title. Dzoma remained unbeaten in any event on the track in 1966 and 1967, competing in one mile, three miles and six miles distances.

He set himself goals and aimed to crack Terry Sullivan's three miles record of 14 min. 07,2 sec. set in 1963, and to qualify for the Mexico Olympics. He managed to achieve both.

In 1967 he became the second Rhodesian, after Robson Mrombe, to break 30 minutes for the six miles, recording 29 min. 27,8 sec. which he was to trim to 29 min. 17,2 sec. the next year. In May 1967 he won an outstanding double at the Mashonaland championships, winning the three miles (14 min. 19,4 sec.) and six miles (29 min. 37,8 sec.) and taking the Ranger Trophy for the outstanding athlete of the meeting. A few months later he had a double triumph at the national championships (14 min. 17,4 sec and 29 min. 27,8 sec.). Remarkably, he bettered his own times for these two events on every occasion he competed in his first two seasons.

It was at a meeting at Bulawayo that coach John Cheffers first saw Dzoma run In 1968.

Dzoma was selected for and then denied the right to compete in two successive Olympiads — Mexico, 1968 and Munich, 1972. Dzoma and Mathias Kanda had prepared for Mexico but just two weeks before their scheduled departure they were informed the Mexican Government — in obedience to a United Nations resolution demanding non-recognition of Rhodesia; seized the passports of the Rhodesian team from the Mexican Olympic Committee offices and refused to issue visas.^[3] The incident inspired Australian, John Cheffers, who was the country's national track and field coach in 1968 and was responsible for preparing Dzoma and Kanda for the Games to write a book A Wilderness of Spite or Rhodesia Denied.^[4] The title of the book is a quotation of the last sentence in a statement issued by the then National Olympic Committee of Rhodesia president, Mr. Douglas Downing.

Dzoma had a nervous breakdown when he was told he couldn't go to the Olympics.^[5]

He was beaten by Simon Shekedi of Mhangura in the 1500m race. It was his first defeat against a Rhodesian in 3 years.

Among Dzoma's most notable early successes was beating Springbok star, Willie Olivier, in the three miles at Salisbury in a triangular meeting between Rhodesia, the South African Police and South African Defence. Dzoma won by 50 metres. His time of 14 min. 23,4 sec was 16,2 seconds outside Sullivan's allcomers mark. In his only attempt at the mile that year, Dzoma set the best time of the season with 4 min. 14,5 sec.

To clinch his selection for the 1968 Olympic 5 000 metres and 10 000 metres, Dzoma ran 13 min. 52,8 sec. that year to beat Sullivan's national three miles record. The six miles record fell to him at 29 min. 17,2 sec.

After failing to go to the Olympics, Dzoma continued running, gaining many triumphs that kept his name in the headlines. Among these were victories in the international San Sylvestre round-the-houses race in Luanda in 1971 (25 min. 02,0 sec.), and again in 1972, when he broke Fanie van Zijl's record. He followed this by eclipsing another Springbok star, Andries Krogman, in both the 5 000 metres and 10 000 metres at a major meeting at Lourengo Marques.

He was chosen in the ten-strong Rhodesian track and field team to be sent to the Munich Games of 1972. In beating Krogman in that 10 000 metres, Dzoma had clocked a national record time of 30 min. 0,08 sec, cracking a mark set in 1960 by Cyprian Tseriwa. It clinched his Munich selection and the ten athletes who travelled to West Germany were: Artwell Mandaza. Adon Treva, Alfred Ncube. Terry Finnigan. Philemon Tambanawenyu. Nigel Hodder, Vuyani Fulunga, Bernard Dzoma. Bruce Kennedy and Jean Fowlds.^[6]

Best Performances

• One mile — 4 min. 09,5 sec. (1968) Salisbury.
• 1 500 m — 3 min. 53,5 sec.(1969) Salisbury.
• 3 000 m - 8 min. 28,0 sec.(1974) Luanda.
• 3 miles — 13 min. 48,8 sec.(1968) Salisbury.
• 6 miles — 29 min. 17,2 sec.(1968) Bulawayo.
• 5 000 m — 14 min. 24,4 sec.(1970) Wankie.
• 10 000 m — 30 min. 00,8 sec.(1972) Lourenco Marques.

Records Held

• 1967 — National 6 miles and all-comers (29 min. 37,8 sec.).
• 1968 — National 3 miles and all-comers (13 min. 52.8 sec.); National 6 miles and all-comers (29 min. 17:2 sec.).
• 1969 — National 5 000 m and all-comers (14 min. 50.6 sec.).
• 1972 — National 10 000 m (30 min. 00,8 sec.).

National Championships

• 1967 — 3 miles (14 min. 17,4 sec.) and 6 miles (29 min. 27,8 sec.).

1*968 — 3 miles (14 min. 24,8 sec.) and 6 miles (29 min. 17,2 sec.).

References