Nyirarukundo begins preps for IAAF World Championships

Rwanda’s middle-distance female athlete Salome Nyirarukundo has started preparations for the forthcoming 16th edition of IAAF World Championships scheduled August 4-13 in London, United Kingdom. The 20-year old star is currently training at Global Communications camp in Kaptagat, Eldoret-Kenya. Nyirarukundo is so far the only Rwandan athlete to have qualified for the prestigious biennial event where she will compete in the women 10,000 metres. Two weeks ago, the Rutsiro-born athlete set a new national record in 5000m during the Nijmegen Global Athletics Championships that took place on June 4 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In Nijmegen, Nyirarukundo finished in fifth place posting 15 minutes, 34 seconds and 91 microseconds hence breaking a nine-year national record that was set by Angelina Nyiransabimana in 2008 at Jerez de la Frontera Gran Premio Andalucia in Spain. Nyiransabimana had posted 15 minutes, 43 seconds and 89 microseconds. “I had a short holiday after competing in the Netherlands and this week, I will concentrate on fitness and gym work and next week is when real work on the field starts,” Nyirarukundo told Times Sport by phone from her Kaptagat base. She competed in the Nijmegen race two weeks after becoming the first Rwandan female athlete to win the half marathon in the Kigali International Peace Marathon since the inception of the annual event in 2005. Nyirarukundo attracted attention from the world’s top athletics managers following a successful 2016, and in January this year, she struck a deal with Netherlands-based Global Sports Communication, which also has bases in Uganda, Kenya and China. “My target is to win a medal in London. Because of training with all these world-class athletes, I feel it’s very possible. All I need is to continue training hard,” she noted. editorial@newtimes.co.rw