Rwanda’s preparations for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are going on well, a National Olympics Committee official has said.

Thierry Ntwari, Chef de Mission for the Rwandan Team to the Beijing Games said yesterday that all is going according to plan as far as preparing the athletes is concerned.
"We’re doing well in terms of preparing the teams (for the Olympics), Ntwari noted in a telephone conversation with Times Sport.

"Very soon the boxing team is going for the qualifiers in Namibia—they’ve been training for quite some time now, so that tells you how well the preparations are going.

"And also, the athletics team is going for the World Cross Country Championship (in Edinburgh, Scotland). I am not sure of the exact travel dates but it’s towards the end of the month,” he stated.

The boxing of four is expected to depart for Windhoek in two days’ time to participate in the last qualifying round for Africa zone after missing out on the first round staged in the Algerian capital Algiers earlier in the year.

The tournament is scheduled to run from March 22 to April 2 and the local boxing governing body, Raba has confirmed the four-man team.

The quartet includes David Nasabimana (54kg), Michel Gashumba (57kg), Pascla Nsabimana (60kg) and Jean Moris Bokorimana (64ks) while Gashugi Kananura travels as trainer.

The athletics team that is currently camping in Ruhengeri, Northern Province, will also travel to Edinburgh at the end of the month for the 36th World Cross Country Championship.

Boxing, athletics, cycling, swimming and Paralympics are the five disciplines, which have been earmarked to represent Rwanda at the Beijing Games.

Ntwari also mentioned the cycling team that is currently in Ivory Coast where it went to participate in one of the several international competitions they has been taking part since last August.  And about the swimming team, which is already assured of participating in the next Olympics, he said the team is currently training at Novotel as part of its preparations.

Meanwhile, the Games’ preparations organizing committee to which Ntwari is a member, has already received the first installment of Frw4 millions as part of about Frw30 millions required to prepare the teams.

"The (Frw) four millions is for 30 days, so we expect to get the next installment as soon as we request for it. This time, it’s the National Olympics Committee going to provide it,” Ntwari explained.

Rwanda has only won one Olympics medal but also came in the Paralympics courtesy of Jean de Dieu Nkundabera at the 2004 Athens Games.
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