The ManicaPost
Ray Bande Senior Sports Reporter
FOR every Tom and Dick, Harry and Jack in the Zimbabwean eastern border city of Mutare, the mere mention of the name Dion Yatras strikes a supermarket or grocery retail business chord.
For the few that know Yatras the sportsperson, it must be all about cricket and rugby — the two sporting genres he not only played in his youth at provincial level but also in the then Country Districts.
Since he was raised in a sporting family, some might recall his brothers who were also into rugby and cricket at Mutare Sports Club while his father Spiro Yatras was into football as he turned out for the then Sakubva United way back in the 70s.
But far away from the innings in the world of cricket or scrums in the game of rugby, which preoccupied young Dion’s life, 43-year-old Yatras is now the country number one in hitting targets.
Yes, Yatras is the reigning Zimbabwe Open shooting champion — a two-time proud winner of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC) president’s medal for the shooting seasons of 2013 and 2014.
The IPSC, an internationally acclaimed shooting regulatory body, was established to promote, maintain, improve and advance the sport of IPSC shooting as well as to safeguard its principles and to regulate its conduct worldwide in order to cultivate safe recreational use of firearms while advancing practical marksmanship.
To put Yatras’ achievement into perspective, the Mutare Spar proprietor has been the finest shooter in the country since last year and will be the reigning champion for the rest of this year after accruing unassailable points so far.
Given his unparalleled marksmanship, manifest in an admirable aptitude to fire 18 bullets in three and half seconds, it is not by chance that Yatras has risen to become the best in the country.
However, it is the tale of how a cricket and rugby player morphed into a shooter with unmatched precision which remains intriguing, let alone the hard work and dedication which saw him achieve much in a sport in which he had never dreamt of partaking.
This week, Manica Post Sport’s Ray Bande solicited for an interview with the soft-spoken businessman who duly took time off his busy schedule to share his experiences and achievements in sport, particularly shooting.
“I was a cricketer and rugby player. If you check the archives in The Manica Post, you will discover that I played not only for the provincial cricket and rugby teams but also the Country Districts for many years.
“However, it was in 1999 that I suddenly found myself into shooting. I was unfortunate to have burglars break into my house in the evening. Luckily I reacted with some aggression and used a small piece of wood that resulted in the assailants running away.
“I was a 100kg rugby player by then and naturally they (burglars) would not get whatever they wanted easily hence sped off.
“That incident left me with the decision to look for a gun. It actually prompted me to go and buy one. Fact remains that I had never used a gun and that is why I had to go to the shooting range to get a better understanding of how to use it.
“For me it was a recreational sport especially in the first four years. Never in my lifetime had I thought I would be involved in shooting.
“I also later decided to quit rugby and cricket obviously because I was around 30 and wanted to concentrate on my business career. I had to quit rugby and cricket also because of the physical demands of the two games being 30 and above,” said Yatras.
From 1999, Yatras took the sport as just another recreational activity. It was not until 2005, when he accompanied shooters who were representing the country in the triennial IPSC shooting completion, that Yatras changed his mind set and attitude towards shooting.
“I was really inspired by the 2005 experience in Ecuador. I had just gone to that competition while accompanying shooters who were representing the country in the triennial IPSC shooting completion.” he added.
A year after taking the sport seriously following the Ecuador experience, Yatras won his first national contest in an exciting shooting Cinderella tale that would see him become part of the national team as well as become the country’s finest shooter.
“In 2009, I then made it into the Zimbabwe team for the All Africa Games held in South Africa and we got a gold medal, which allowed me to get national colours. That was a landmark in my shooting career but as you know the appetite to achieve more gets the better of you each time you achieve something, I aimed at achieving more. At that point, I aimed at being the best in the country.
“I worked hard for it. It did not come that easy. It is good to dream but achievements come on the back of hard work. I am happy that in the last two years, I have won eight of the last nine national events.
“I came second in the other one with 92,2 percent. I finished 2013 ranked first and I cannot be surpassed in 2014 since I have now won most of the national events of the year.
“It is a dream come true to have two ISPC president’s medals and being the best in the country for these two years. It gives you that Usian Bolt-kind of feeling,” said Yatras.
As Yatras basks in the glory of winning the IPSC president’s medal as well as sitting on top of the local rankings in 2013 and 2014, one hopes Zimbabwe could be having another Dave Westerhout in the making.
While representing Zimbabwe, Westerhout was one of the earliest winners of the now triennial World IPSC Championships. He won it back in 1977.
Since then no Zimbabwean has ever won the coveted global shooting title.
