After Dieudonne Disi, more Rwandan athletes have their eyes set on taking world road running competitions by storm.

At least, this is the verdict of local long distance runner Gervais Hakizimana after he defied odds to finish second at the Abidjan International half marathon held last weekend in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

The competition was won by Rwanda’s long distance icon Dieudonne Disi who beat 15.000 other competitors.

Disi clocked 1:10:18 to take top prize of $10.000 (about Frw0.54M) while his countryman Hakizimana finished second in 1:10:48 and $2.500 in cash prize.

The competition was the first international meet, apart from IAAF sanctioned events for Hakizimana but he seized the opportunity to make a dream break through and he plans to keep his foot on the ground as he targets more and better international road races.

He said, "The weather was very hot but we (him and Disi) managed to hold our nerves because we believed in what we were doing. I am excited about my achievement.”
"After this competition, I’ve realized how good Rwandan athletes are but because we don’t get enough exposure at the international level, people can’t see the potential in us.

  "If we could only get more and more exposed against the best in the world, we have what it takes to be top there among the best,” he noted.

The 22-year-old attributed his success in Ivory Coast to the hard work in terms of training he endowed for a whole two months before the race.

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