Dieudonne Disi is a celebrated international long distance runner. In fact he is regarded as Rwanda’s best ever runner thus far.

Since his breakthrough in 1997, the inspirational athlete has competed in over 200 national, regional and international races and has finished on the podium over 150 times. He has also been to over 82 countries across the globe.

From Genocide agony to a world class athlete

In all he does, Disi gives his best for three reasons— to honor his fallen family which was killed during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi,  for the pride of his country and to live a better life.

"When I was barely 13, I lost my family (both parents and six siblings) in the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi. They were killed right in my face,” recalls Disi.

With such memories still vivid in his mind, he puts dedication in everything he does in honor of his departed family, and his beloved country.  "I also do it to shape a good life for myself that I was almost denied in 1994,” the 34-year-old Disi told Saturday Sport by email on Thursday from his base in France.

The first time he ever ran a marathon, it was to save his life during the Genocide and he was just 13. Disi ran over 50km from his native village of Ntyazo, Butare to Burundi. He survived, but his family did not. The soft-spoken runner lost both his parents and six of the ten siblings.

Today, Disi is a world-class marathoner with a personal best of 27:22 in 10.000km, 59:32 in half-marathon and 2:12:52 in full-marathon and they are all national records.

Who is Disi?

Born on November 24, 1980 in Ntyazo village of Huye District (formerly Butare) to Didace Disi and Odette Samaliya, he is the fifth born from a family of ten.

He attended Ntyazo primary school before going to Ecole Secondaire de Nyanza for O’level studies and the atrocities of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi happened when he was in senior two.

He joined the RPA (now Rwanda Defence Forces) in mid 1994 and served for three years until 1997 when he quit the army and returned to school at North Province-based GS Kigembe doing Economics in A ‘level. He enrolled at KIST (now University of Rwanda College of sciences and Technology) in 2002 where he pursued management but dropped out after one year.

Currently, he is a third-year student doing a bachelors’ degree in sports management in Fort, France and will graduate next year.

The APR Athletics Club athlete is not married but has a daughter called Tiro Kessia Disi who stays with her mother in Texas, United States.

Early days

Athletics was never Disi’s first sport; he used to play football and volleyball as a young boy until 1997 when he returned to school.

"In football, I was not getting a first slot in my former schools’ teams no matter how much I tried to impress the coaches. I had a classmate called Pacifique Ayubusa, who was an athletics star at school and a national team runner in 1997. With his help and advice, I switched from football to athletics,” he narrates.

In the start, Disi used to race in 500m, 800m and 1500m categories before moving to 3000m and 5000m. Later on, with experience and age, he shifted to 10,000m, before finally going to half and full-marathon.

From football to athletics

Disi has been competing on the international level for the last 17 years since 1998. He has been captain of APR athletics club since 1998, although he is not in the country most of the time.

He officially started his international career at the 1999 All Africa Games in Johannesburg, South Africa where he clocked 14:45:16 in the Men’s 5000m category and finished 19th.

"Ever since making my international debut in 1999, I have gone on to compete in over 200 competitions and I have been on podium for over 150 times. I have also been able to travel to 82 countries worldwide,” Disi disclosed.

Highlights

In 2002, he raced in Men’s 5000m at IAAF African Championships in Radès, Tunisia where he used 14:05:58 to finish in the 13th position.

In 2003, he made his second appearance at the All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria but competing in 10.000m this time round to finish 8th after using 28:37:69.

He also represented the country at the World Military Cross Country Championships and won gold before winning silver the following year.

However, 2004 was a busy year, he appeared in three world-class competitions namely; World Cross Country Championships in Brussels, Belgium, IAAF African Championships in Brazzaville, Congo and Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

He finished 18th in Brussels, clocked 28:39:26 to finish 4th in 10.000m in Brazzaville and 28:43:19 to finish in the 17th place at the Athens Olympics.

In 2005, he made his maiden appearance in the IAAF World Championships staged in Helsinki, Finland to finish 17th in 10.000m category after using 27:53:51 before winning Bronze (5000m) and Gold (10.000m) at the Francophone Games in Niamey, Niger using 14:16:41 and 29:17:11 respectively.

In 2006, he was at the World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia and clocked 08:01:73 to finish 17th in Men’s 3000m before finishing ninth at the Debrecen (Hungary) World Road Running Championships.

He also competed in the Kigali International Peace Marathon and won the Half-Marathon gold medal-the only Kigali Peace Marathon he ever appeared in.

In 2007, he was at the IAAF World Championships for his second time but in 5000m this time and clocked 13:47:30 to finish 16th before returning to World Road Running Championships in Udine, Italy to finish in the sixth position using 59:32 in half-marathon.

In 2008, he competed in World Half Marathon Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to finish 6th after using 1:03:03.

 In 2009, he ran at the World Championships (third appearance) in Berlin, Germany in full marathon but didn’t complete due to a knee injury.

 A few weeks later, he recovered to claim gold medals at Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale in half marathon using 1:00:21 and 29:38:68 in 10.000m at the Francophone Games in Beirut, Lebanon respectively.

In 2010, the former soldier represented Rwanda at the New Delhi, India Commonwealth Games in full marathon again but pulled over at the half-way mark after suffering knee ligament injury, which he nursed for nearly three years.

Last year, he again represented the country at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland and his target was to win a medal and officially retire but things did not go according to the plan as he clocked 2:19:14 in full marathon to finish in the 18th spot.

Future plans

Since the 20th Glasgow Commonwealth Games last July, Disi has so far appeared in three different international competitions namely; Fort Half-Marathon in France, Brazzaville Half-Marathon in the Republic of Congo and Bridge Town Half-Marathon on Barbados.

He won gold in France and Silver in Brazzaville and Barbados respectively.

The veteran is also planning to retire soon, "I’m serving my last days in competitive athletics, because I believe it’s time to move on to a different challenge. If all goes well, I want to participate in one competition before announcing my official retirement but I don’t know exactly when.”

After a career spanning 18-years, Disi wants to go into coaching and see how he can groom and nurture young talents and play a role in the progress and development of athletics in Rwanda.

Saddest memory

He says, watching his family being killed on April 23, 1994, will forever be the saddest memory that he can never forget, "Every time the issue comes up, I feel pain in my chest,” he told this newspaper.

Happiest moment

Winning gold at the 2005 Francophone Games in Niamey, Niger in 10.000m and bronze in 5000m.

Despite his busy schedule, Disi also closely follows football and supports Rayon Sports on local scene and Arsenal in the English Premier League.