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Brian Dzingai's Road to Prosperity Serves the Scarlet Hawks Track & Field Teams Well

Brian Dzingai Pictured Second From Left
Brian Dzingai Pictured Second From Left
Posted: Jun 09, 2020

Brian Dzingai's pedigree in track & field includes stops across all levels of NCAA either as an athlete or coach. The Harare, Zimbabwe native's unique background doesn't end there.

Dzingai, who concluded his second season as the Illinois Institute of Technology assistant track & field coach, qualified for the 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games in the 200 meter dash. The 2008 Beijing Olympics resulted in a fourth-place standing for Dzingai. 

He dominated the Harare track & field circuit at an early age, where losing was a rare commodity.

"I never lost a race until my senior year of high school, where I actually lost two races," said Dzingai. 

Despite the successes at St. Georges School, where he graduated from in 1999, Dzingai embarked on a route considered to be rare and unique. We often hear of many athletes transferring down from a level they previously competed, or from somewhere similar. That wasn't the case for Dzingai, who started his journey at NCAA Division II Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri, where he spent the 2001 and 2002 seasons as a member of the track & field team. 

"Until you get here (United States) for the first time, you view everywhere as exactly the same," said Dzingai. "All my decision came down to was the tuition numbers, which was only around $7,000 not including the partial scholarship. Tuition like that today is nearly unheard of."

Dzingai broke school records as a freshman on the Truman State track & field team, which paved opportunities for him to advance in his collegiate career. He elected to stay at Truman State for his sophomore campaign before the opportunity to move up grew enticing. That's where Dzingai caught on with the Florida State University (NCAA Division I) track & field team for his junior (2003) and senior seasons (2004).

"I struggled quite a bit my junior season then decided to just have fun for my senior season, originally thought of as my final time running track & field," said Dzingai. "The pressures went away, which resulted in a personal best in nearly every race. I was having fun with my teammates."

Dzingai's peace of mind paid dividends for him his senior season, where he won the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Indoor and Outdoor 200 Meter Dash Championships. He went on place fifth in the 200 meter dash at the 2004 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championship en route to becoming the Seminoles' first All-American. However, Dzingai's first outdoor race that season secured him a spot in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. 

"I went to Athens that summer, and didn't manage to make it past the second round even though I was ranked the seventh fastest guy in the world. It was disappointing, but also an achievement." said Dzingai. 

With his collegiate career behind him at that point, Dzingai embarked on a four-year cycle in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Many things out of one's control can go right or wrong within a long period of time, and Dzingai understood that. Managing to become one of the top-10 fastest individuals in the world after an NCAA season presented many training strategies that ultimately helped Dzingai take his talents to the next level for the 2008 Olympics. The busy schedule included grad school classes at Florida State, where he finished his MBA in 2007. Despite the grueling training sessions, Dzingai was on the fence about making a run for the 2008 Olympics.

"At that point, I contemplated whether I should train for another eight months and make the team again," said Dzingai. "I was 26-27 years old at that time and figured to just do it. I managed to get back to the 'have fun' mindset and everything clicked."

Standing in Dzingai's way in the 200 meter dash finals at the 2008 Olympics was Usain Bolt, who claimed the world record en route to a gold medal. As for Dzingai, he narrowly missed a bronze medal with a fourth-place time of 20.22. 

"He (Usain Bolt) is the toughest guy I've competed against, but I've raced against some guys who have been decent matchups," said Dzingai.

Dzingai graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting & finance in 2005 and went on to earn a MBA in finance, also from Florida State University in 2007. He made the trek to Chicago in 2014 to embark on a position at HighTower as a Project Manager before he landed at his current job at Blustrata Inc. Dzingai continued to work with the St. Patrick's High School track & field team before he learned about the opportunity at Illinois Tech. 

"I helped train an athlete who was a member of the Illinois Tech track & field team, who asked me if I was interested in helping out with the team," said Dzingai. "I was reluctant at first, but the flexible hours and the morning training made it possible and the rest is history."