Rwanda has shown great promise in international cycling. In the latest ranking by the International Cycling Union, Rwanda ranked third in Africa while Rwanda’s cyclist Joseph Areruya came in first place in individual ranking. Lydia Atieno finds out if Rwanda should take this as a cue to invest more in cycling and even make it the national sport.
Rwanda has shown great promise in international cycling. In the latest ranking by the International Cycling Union, Rwanda ranked third in Africa while Rwanda’s cyclist Joseph Areruya came in first place in individual ranking. Lydia Atieno finds out if Rwanda should take this as a cue to invest more in cycling and even make it the national sport.
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I think the first goal of sports is to entertain and get people together, and as cycling has done it, Rwanda should emphasise on that and make it a national sport. However, they should not promote cycling at the expense of other sports as they might miss out on developing talents.
They should make provisions for training sports personalities from a young age as they do in the countries that have a competitive edge in sports.
Paul Rutikanga, Journalist at RBA
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Just like other countries do, the government of Rwanda should select the game which they think can make a country proud and known, then make it the dominant national sport.
I think investing in a particular game can help the country get a name and recognized for that rather than spending a lot trying to balance in all sports. The likes of Nigeria and Kenya can be good examples where football and athletics are their national sports.
Patricia Kayitesi, Tutor
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What I know is that cycling has contributed greatly towards the prosperity of a nation.
Our team performs well and it has been recognised by other countries because of that. I think it’s better to invest in it more than other sports because it’s the one which is uplifting the respect of Rwanda on the international sports scene.
Deo Jyamubandi, Public Relations Officer
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Historically, Rwandans and Africans in general love football. In my little knowledge of sports, if there was a national sport, football would be the obvious one. We are in an era of innovation and doing things differently. So maybe the recent victories might inspire people to look at the sport differently and select cycling as the new Rwandan sport.
Ineza Mireille Karera, CEO at KORA