August 4-13: IAAF World Championships-London, UK

Rwanda’s middle-distance female athlete Salome Nyirarukundo has intensified preparations ahead of her highly anticipated debut at the forthcoming 16th edition of IAAF World Championships. scheduled for August 4-13 in London, United Kingdom.

The highly rated athletics star is currently getting through her final paces at Global Communications camp in Kaptagat, Eldoret-Kenya.

The 20-year old athlete will be Rwanda’s only flag bearer at the biennial prestigious event after her compatriots failed to secure the minima time to qualify for the event.

The Rutsiro district born athlete will compete in the women’s 10,000 metres.

Speaking to Times Sport in a phone interview on Tuesday from her Camp in Kaptagat, the reigning Kigali International Peace Half Marathon champion revealed that her camp has gone pretty well and she is optimistically looking forward to the event with the aim of a podium finish.

"The camp has really gone well, this is my final week of training and I will be flying back to Kigali on July 30 before jetting off to London on August 2 because I will run on August 5,” she revealed in an exclusive interview.

The athlete added that she was privileged to compete with most elite Kenyan athletes, an experience that has boosted her morale and hope of snatching a podium finish.

Last month, Nyirarukundo set a new national record in 5000m during the Nijmegen Global Athletics Championships that took place on June 4 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

In Nijmegen, Nyirarukundo finished in fifth place posting 15 minutes, 34 seconds and 91 microseconds hence breaking a nine-year national record that was set by Angelina Nyiransabimana in 2008 at Jerez de la Frontera Gran Premio Andalucia in Spain.

Nyiransabimana had posted 15 minutes, 43 seconds and 89 microseconds.

She competed in the Nijmegen race two weeks after becoming the first Rwandan female athlete to win the half marathon in the Kigali International Peace Marathon since the inception of the annual event in 2005.

She qualified for World championships during her debut at the 2016 Olympics.

The entry standard in women 10,000 metres is 32 minutes and 15 seconds, valid from January 1, 2016 until July 23, 2017. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Rutsiro-born athlete debutant finished 27th after clocking 32:07:80.

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