Rukundo, Simukeka in Lebanon battle

Sylvain Rukundo and Jean Baptiste Simukeka are some of the athletes fighting for places to the 6th Francophone Games in Beirut-Lebanon this September. The athletes are expected to assemble at Amahoro stadium this morning as they try to beat the set minimum qualification times for the Games.

Friday, June 12, 2009
Sylvain Rukundo in action during a past event.

Sylvain Rukundo and Jean Baptiste Simukeka are some of the athletes fighting for places to the 6th Francophone Games in Beirut-Lebanon this September.

The athletes are expected to assemble at Amahoro stadium this morning as they try to beat the set minimum qualification times for the Games.

Athletes will compete in four categories; 400m, 800m, 5000m and 10000m. The minimum qualification times are: 400m - 46:64 seconds for men and 54:94 seconds for women; 800m - 1:49 minutes for men and 2:08:05 minutes for women; 5000m - 14:00 minutes for men and 16:40 minutes for women; 10000m - 29:20 minutes for men and 30:30minute.

Elite runner Dieudonne Disi, Epiphanie Nyirabarame and Claudette Mukasakindi have already qualified for the Games.

Disi qualified after clocking 2hours and 12 minutes in the Paris Marathon, Nyirabarame clocked 2 hours and 41 minutes in last year’s Rome marathon while Mukasakindi clocked 16 minutes and 5 minutes in the 5000m of last year’s Rendezvous National.

Ends