When Tshinyadzo Mudau left Vhembe to participate in the Tokyo Marathon last week, he had one thing in mind: to finish the race and have his name engraved on the wall alongside the other world-acclaimed athletes. This is the dream he cherished for years and it finally came true.

The 50-year-old athlete from Tshifudi, who is a member of the Faranani Athletics Club, left for Tokyo on Tuesday, 28 February, and the race took place on 5 March. Mudau was one of more than 45 000 athletes from around the world who participated in the 42.2 km marathon. He finished in 3 hours and 17 minutes, which is no mean feat for a man who hails from a rural village, where sporting facilities are almost non-existent.

“When I first started running, I set goals for myself. I am happy that I am realising those goals and my dreams are being fulfilled. I wanted to complete ten Two Oceans Marathons and ten Comrades Marathons, and I did. I always wanted to find myself running at the highest level of athletics; running major marathons like the London Marathon in Britain, the Chicago Marathon in the USA, the New York City and Boston marathons in the USA, and the Berlin Marathon in Germany. Having done the Tokyo Marathon in Japan made me feel fulfilled, although I still have to travel the world,” he said.

Mudau has also run the Jerusalem Marathon in Israel, the Dublin Marathon in Ireland, the Paris Marathon in France and the Rotterdam Marathon in the Netherlands.

“My aim in Tokyo was to finish the race and collect the World Majors Medal, so that I could get my name engraved on the World Majors Wall of Honour, and I am excited that I achieved that on 5 March this year. This is a rare achievement in the world of athletics. Only 91 runners from the whole of Africa are in possession of this medal, and I wanted to be part of this history,” Mudau said.