Felicien Hakizimana and Saidate Mutimukeye were crowned Gicumbi Hills Duathlon Challenge competition which was held on Sunday in Gicumbi District.

This is the third consecutive win for Hakizimana after winning the Nyanza Culture Duathlon Challenge and the Huye Duathlon Sprint.

In the men’s category, Hakizimana who won the one-day event was followed by Jermaine Ngendahayo who used 1 hour and 30 seconds while Jean Claude Gashayija came in third place after using 1 hour, one minute and 9 seconds.

"I am happy to win here in Kigali; it was a tough challenge compared to the previous events, the next task is to compete and win the remaining challenges,” Hakizimana said

The competition, which took place in Gicumbi Town was attended by 20 athletes while two were unable to finish.

In the women’s category, Saidate Mutimukeye finished first used 1 hour, 19 minutes and 51 seconds, followed by Euphrasia Nyirandikumana with 1 hour, 35 minutes, and 19 seconds while Francine Uwitonze came in third place after clocking 1 hour, 44 minutes and 32 seconds.

After the tournament, two more are scheduled at the end of the year, which will be held in Rubavu and Kigali.

While many variations of the sport exist, Duathlon, in its most popular form, involves cycling and running in immediate succession over various distances.

The competition attracted participants across four categories, including professional men and women and people with disabilities.