Robson Mrombe, also known as Rabson Mulombe (born 12 September 1945Ellina Mhlanga
'Former Olympian gets second chance'
The Herald (Harare), 4 March 2011), is a

Rhodesian Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

athlete who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympic men's marathon.

Athletic career

Mrombe originally came from

Wankie Hwange (formerly Wankie) is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Hwange District, in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland North Province, in northwestern Zimbabwe, close to the international borders with Botswana and Zambia. It lies approximately , by r ...

in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe today). He began running at the Kanchindu Mission School in Zambia in the 1950s. He usually ran for the Wankie Athletic club which was a fierce competitor in Rhodesian track and field in the 1960s with the Alpha Track Club from Bulawayo. Mrombe also ran 2:18:53.7 at Bulawayo in the 1964 Rhodesian Olympic marathon trials. He competed in the 1964 Summer Olympic men's marathon finishing 56th and running 2 hours 49 minutes and 30 seconds in the marathon. Mulombe said that he had a cramp in the Olympic Marathon and otherwise would have placed better. Robson trained to run in the Mexican 1968 Olympic Games, running approximately 2:32 in the Rhodesian Olympic Trials in Bulawayo in late June 1968, finishing second that day to

Mathias Kanda Mirimi Mathias Kanda (2 June 1942 – 30 October 2009) was a track and field athlete who competed for Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe) in the 1964 Summer Olympic men's marathon, finishing 51st and running 2:41.09 in the marathon. He was then selected ...

. Robson was recommended for inclusion in the Olympic team that year by

John Cheffers Dr. John Theodore Francis Cheffers (13 May 1936 in Melbourne, Australia – 28 October 2012) was the second Director of the Australian Institute of Sport. He succeeded Don Talbot as AIS Director in 1984 and stayed in the role until 1986. Ronald ...

, the coach of the 1968 Rhodesian/Zimbabwe track team; however, Robson was not selected to run. A treatise on the history of Rhodesian participation in the Olympics mentions Robson. Robson won the 1971 South African marathon championship at Libanon Mine Track, 20 kilometres outside of Johannesburg, at 5,300 feet altitude in 2:32:13. A retrospective on Robson's running career appeared in the Zimbabwe ''Herald'' in 2011. Speaking of his 1964 Olympic experience he said in 2011: "I was quite excited to participate in the Games. However, there was a lot of segregation, we were not treated well. Most of the times we were hidden in the Games village and were not allowed to go out yet our white teammates were allowed to roam around." Robson began running at the Kanchindu Mission School in Zambia in the 1950s. He had a winning streak starting in 1970. Says the ''Herald'' 2011 article: "He won the South Africa Chamber of Mines races arathonin 1966 and the Orange Free State race in the same year. He won the Orange Free State race for the second time in 1970. He went on a winning streak and it was only in 1974 that he came second behind Zisco Steel's runner, John Shaba." Honoured by the Wankie community in his older age, he has been named "the honorary member of the Kujatana Nkubotu peace half-marathon that is held annually in Binga." When asked for advice to younger people, Robson said: "I encourage the young athletes to take sport seriously because even in my old age I don't feel that old because of the training that I took. My body is still strong, it is something that brought gladness in my life. It is about being passionate." More recent information about Robson Mulombe can be found at

References

External references

* – late in this video are several seconds of Robson Mrombe (number 58), wearing green, finishing the 1964 Olympic marathon exhausted.
Sports Reference site for Robson Mrombe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mrombe, Robson Sportspeople from Matabeleland North Province Rhodesian athletes Olympic athletes for Rhodesia Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Zimbabwean male marathon runners Living people 1945 births Zimbabwean male long-distance runners