Bernard Dzoma
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Born | Mutare |
| Years active | 1964-1972 |
| Sport | |
| Event(s) | 10000m,5000m |
Bernard Dzoma is a Zimbabwean retired joiner and mining employee of Rio Tinto who was the first Zimbabwean to break 30 minutes in the 10,000 metre race. Running in the 1960s and 1970s, Dzoma was selected to compete for Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia in that country's 1968 Olympic team. This team was refused entry permits to Mexico, and Rhodesia was, de facto, banned from this point and did not compete in the Olympic Games again until 1980. Rhodesia was banned from the Olympic Games because the country did not allow Africans to vote in national elections, and denied them equal rights under the law. Dzoma's running at this time, along with fellow Zimbabwean athlete, Mathias Kanda, are detailed by his Australian coach's book: A Wilderness of Spite by John Cheffers.[1]
Andrew Novak has a treatise on Rhodesian participation in the Olympic which also mentions Dzoma.[2]
After the personal disappointment of not being able to run in the 1968 Olympic Games,[3] Dzoma continued to train on his own and was selected to run in the 1972 Munich Games. He was in Munich for the Games, however, again, the Rhodesian team was not allowed to compete.
Dzoma then became a coach and coached 3 Zimbabwean marathoners at the 1985 Hiroshima World Marathon Championships.[4]
Dzoma is an athlete who was significantly effected by the Sporting Boycotts which helped to bring an end to apartheid in the 1960s to 1990s.
After this Dzoma married and had six children. He worked as a Joiner and later as a Rio Tinto employee.[5] He is currently living in Zimbabwe.
A comprehensive listing of Dzoma's track times and more biographical information is available at.[6]
References
- ↑ A Wilderness of Spite by John Cheffers Vantage Press 1972
- ↑ http://www.slideshare.net/IndyJ02/rhodesian-olympic-team
- ↑ http://independent.academia.edu/AndrewNovak/Papers/466308/Sport_and_Racial_Discrimination_in_Colonial_Zimbabwe
- ↑ Personal letter of Bernard Dzoma to John Cheffers 2001
- ↑ Personal communication of Bernard Dzoma to Paul Cheffers, 2011
- ↑ http://rhodesiansportprofiles.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/bernard-dzoma.html