Namu Makatiani is a fourth-year Biology major with a minor in Chemistry. Makatiani boasts school records in the indoor 60-meter hurdles, indoor and outdoor triple jump, and outdoor 100m hurdles, and was recently named NCAC Athlete of the Week for his performance. In February, Makatiani was named to the Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Team for his volunteer work at Kendal at Oberlin and as a clinical volunteer for Nyumbani Children’s Home in Nairobi, Kenya.
One day at the local track, when Namu Makatiani was a child growing up in Nairobi, Kenya, he eagerly watched from just beyond the track as older kids took three long strides before leaping deep into a sand pit.
“I didn’t know what it was, but I was like, ‘Okay, that looks interesting,’” Makatiani said. “They’re jumping three times and then into the pit. I could do that.”
Makatiani estimated that his track and field career began when he was around seven years old. Kenya has a storied history of producing world-class distance runners, but that was not the path he initially wanted to take.
As Makatiani continued to watch, his intrigue grew. And in that swift moment observing the triple jump, he learned — unlike many of his peers — maybe long-distance running was not the path for him. Rather, it was the triple jump.
“So naturally, as any kid might do, you start practicing it on your own,” Makatiani explained. “Eventually, one of my coaches just saw me doing it and said, ‘Let’s try and train you for that.’ I guess that interaction and my coach’s belief that I could actually do it made me start enjoying the more technical aspects of the triple jump.”
Fast forward to the present: Makatiani is the Oberlin College triple jump record holder. On Feb. 28, at the NCAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Makatiani leapt 14.91 meters, besting his previous record and shattering a conference record that had stood for 24 years.
Before his record-breaking leaps, track and field was always highlighted in the Makatiani household. Makatiani’s dad, Ayisi, previously ran collegiate track at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and his brother also ran track in high school. Because of this, his family watched any track and field events they could find on TV and especially keyed into the Summer Olympics.
In one of the various Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin Olympic showdowns, Makatiani remembers watching them battle for the 100-meter crown in what was under 10 seconds of must-see TV.
His mother, Kerry-Ann, was born and raised in Jamaica, the same as Bolt.
“I remember sitting there on that couch with my mom, and the gun goes off, and they’re out of the blocks,” Makatiani recalled. “[Bolt] got out of the blocks behind, and then eventually my mom was like, ‘No, this is not okay, he needs to pick it up.’ As the race continued, and as Bolt started catching up, you could just see my mom’s expression turn from fear to joy.”
Along with his passion for track and field, Makatiani was also proud of his academics. In fact, they were the major factor that drove him to come to America after his freshman year of high school.
“I was somebody who always preferred homework and did well with it, but wasn’t necessarily the best [at] tests,” Makatiani said. “So for me, the transition coming to the U.S., where they prioritize a lot more holistically what your grade is going to be, it benefited me a lot.”
Makatiani spent three years at the George School in Pennsylvania. The initial transition to the U.S. was not too difficult, as Makatiani had previously visited family in the States many times. Yet, there were still some aspects of home he missed.
“Growing up in Kenya, there was a lot of space,” Makatiani said. “It was close to family. The culture there is just amazing. A lot of music, a lot of great food, and a lot of deep history, which I appreciated and valued a lot growing up there.”
The transition to the George School also made the college application process a lot simpler, where initially, track and field was an afterthought.
“Track and field was a plus, a side effect of that,” Makatiani said. “When I was applying to college, I really just wanted to focus on academics. I wasn’t really thinking about track or competing.”
And while he has excelled athletically at Oberlin, Makatiani’s accomplishments off the track mirror his success. This winter, Makatiani was named to the Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Team for his devotion to community service worldwide.
During the school year, Makatiani volunteers at Kendal at Oberlin, supporting nurses, caring for the elderly, and assisting with residents’ daily activities.
Makatiani also maintains a steady presence in his hometown. He volunteers with Nyumbani Children’s Home in Nairobi, Kenya, where he conducts lab tests and cares for children living with HIV.
“I try to explore the communities I am a part of as much as possible,” Makatiani said. “Kendal and Nyumbani Children’s hospital [are] passions of mine because I could be of physical service to others, which to me is meaningful.”
And while his passion for physical service has continued to grow at Oberlin, his track and field career was almost nixed before Makatiani became a Yeoman.
In his last high school meet, Makatiani’s talent was so apparent that his high school head coach stepped in.
“I jumped relatively far, and he was really excited by that accomplishment,” Makatiani said. “He was like, ‘You know what, you’re not done here.’ So behind my back, but not really behind my back, because he told me at the end of that meet he was going to reach out to Oberlin.”
Shortly after, Makatiani had a Zoom call with the entire Oberlin coaching staff — which was admittedly a little intimidating — and then stayed in contact with Kofi Asare, OC ’22, and Zac Ntia, OC ’23.
“I think that feeling of already being part of the team made me decide to choose to continue track and field in college,” Makatiani said.
The connectedness Makatiani felt before he even set foot on campus has continued to grow and evolve throughout his four years. Although most track and field events are individualized, all 69 track athletes — 36 on the men’s team and 33 on the women’s team — leave their impact on every one of Makatiani’s events.
“I would not be where I am without my team,” Makatiani said. “We push each other every day, and it’s been a whole lot of fun working with them. You see them getting better at their events, and it motivates you to do better at your event. I think that’s a sign of how close we are and just how much we truly support each other because we feel emotionally invested in the outcomes of each other.”
Makatiani aims to create similar feelings of comfort through his community service.
“To provide a feeling that someone is not alone means actively listening to whoever you are working with,” Makatiani said. “Showing those you work with that you care is a foundational way to help them feel a sense of community, and I try my best to develop that skill each day.”
Now in his senior season, Makatiani has felled many longstanding records throughout his career. His honors include four North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, three NCAA All-American honors, four school records in the outdoor 100-meter hurdles, outdoor triple jump, indoor 60-meter hurdles, and the indoor triple jump.
Tomorrow at 11 a.m., Makatiani will compete at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, AL. His 14.91-meter mark — nearly 49 feet — ranks ninth in Division III and falls well above the qualifying cutoff line at 14.64 meters.
This is not Makatiani’s first time qualifying for the Championships. Makatiani has qualified four times previously — NCAA Outdoor Champions for triple jump every year prior, as well as Indoor Championships for triple jump last season.
Before Makatiani takes off tomorrow, he will be thinking positive thoughts.
“I try to leave my mind blank,” Makatiani said. “But as I’m on the runway, it’s just happy thoughts.”
It’s easy for Makatiani to think happy thoughts because success has never been about the results. His mindset has always been geared toward the process.
“I never try to focus on the results themselves,” Makatiani said. “The results are always second. They are a result of all the hard work I put in. A happy consequence of that is that I’m breaking a lot more records.”
