Zimbabwe's leading distance runner Isaac Mpofu is already planning his next move just over a month after making his Olympic Games debut.
He has set next year's World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan as his next major assignment.
The World Athletics Championships are pencilled in for September 13 to 21, 2025.
Mpofu is back in training in Bulawayo.
He targets two more races before he concludes his 2024 season in November.
He will then take a break before resuming his programme, specifically for the qualifying races to try and run within the required time of 2hours 6minutes 30seconds for the bi-annual global meet .
"I am focusing on a few races, just two races left to complete my season," Mpofu said.
"Then I am trying to plan on camps for qualifiers for next year to see where I can go and what I can do.
"But all this needs funding which I don't have right now because I am trying to talk to several people to assist me in that area.
"But the race I am targeting to try and qualify will be held in April next year.
"Right now, I am just left with a few races around here and Europe. If I do one marathon and a half marathon, then I am good for the season.
"I am thinking of going to South Africa, either Cape Town or Soweto. Then for the half marathon I can try to talk to the manager, then he can just find one in Europe, and I am done for the season," said Mpofu.
Mpofu has been to the World Championships before having made his maiden appearance at the 2019 event, in Doha, Qatar.
He went on to represent the country in two more editions in the United States in 2022 and Budapest, Hungary last year.
"I can say for every athlete it's important to be at a World stage like World Championships, Olympics, African Games and Senior Championships.
"Everyone wants to make it to that stage.
"But the key is preparation and all the stuff needed during preparation. So, on an honest note, those are the things most athletes in Zimbabwe are suffering to get.
"To get adequate resources, that is key.
"I am trying to push that by mid-December I would have managed to get one or two things, then I will start my pre-training for next year because I will be off mid-November to mid-December.
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"Then I will start again almost end of December going forward for the preparation of the qualifiers for the 2025 World Championships," said Mpofu.
This year he made his debut appearance at the Olympics where he placed 19th.
Mpofu will be hoping to build on his experience as he pursues qualification to make his fourth straight appearance at the World Championships.
"The Olympics was another chapter.
"Mostly I prepare according to the race I am going to attend . . . Right now it's about time.
"I must try my best to train and be fit to run the qualifying time. So that's my target running the time.
"So, I must make sure that by the time we get to April, I am fit to an extent that I am able to run the time."
Other hopefuls for qualification in the marathon include Tendai Zimuto, Blessing Waison, and Ngonidzashe Ncube.
