RWANDA’S marathon athletes have intensified their preparations ahead of this year’s Commonwealth Games which will be held in New Delhi, India from October 3-4.

The trio of Dieudonne Disi, Rashid Safari and Gervais Nizeyimana, who will compete in the full marathon (42.1km) category, started rigorous training a fortnight ago in Bugesera and Amahoro stadiums respectively.

Disi, who is yet to participate in any international competition following his recovery from a hamstring, has ruled out training at Eldoret’s high altitude training center opting to stick with his colleagues in Kigali.

"Training with Safari and Nizeyimana is very important because it builds cohesion in the team. We can also learn from each other,” Disi, who turns 30 in November, said.

After yesterday’s training session at Amahoro stadium, Nizeyimana said, "So far so good. We are learning a lot from each other and hope that we shall be ready to push for medals when the Games swing into motion.”

Disi wants to use the Delhi Games to re-ignite his international career. The former APR athletics club star has been scarce on the running track since March this year when he sustained a hamstring injury while running in the Paris half marathon. The injury forced him to miss several international races including the Paris Marathon.

Despite his recovery, he skipped last month’s Africa Athletics Championship in Nairobi due to a nagging headache.

Last year, he competed in the World Marathon Championship only to pull out at the 28km-mark after stretching a muscle.

He however made up for that slip with a series of victories in October; winning the 10,000m race at the Francophone Games, the Paris 20Km race and equaling the course record at the Reims Half Marathon.

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