Athletes depart for Daegu today

Epiphanie Nyirabarame and Sylvain Rukundo’s departure to the IAAF Athletics World Championships in Daegu, South Korea has been delayed by a day. The championship kicks off on Saturday. According to the pair’s coach Emmanuel Murenzi, the team was supposed to leave yesterday but due to what he termed as “unexpected” circumstances, the departure was rescheduled for today. “I’m now completing the process of acquiring tickets from the RwandAir and our booked has been confirmed for tomorrow [today],” Murenzi said yesterday. Despite the delay in departure, two-time Olympian Nyirabarame said, “I am ready for the challenge. We have done enough preparations and I believe I have a chance of doing well.” “My aim is to attain the minimum qualification time for the 2012 Olympic Games in London,” added the veteran athlete, who will compete in the women’s full marathon race on September 4. Rukundo, who is expected to face stiff challenge will taken to the field on August 28 in the 10,000m final before going in for the 5,000m on September 1. The pair, who secured Olympic scholarships early this year, is set to use the Daegu championship as a platform of qualifying for 2012 London Olympic Games. In the 10000m final, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele is expected to defend the title. Bekele will run, using his champion’s wild card and putting both his title and his undefeated record at 10,000m on the line. Winning will be a huge task. It would be his fifth in a row- one more than Haile Gebrselassie. For Bekele who has not run since 2010, Great Britain’s Mo Farah is an overwhelming favorite, having won the biggest 10,000m of the year and gone undefeated at all other distances. Farah is the fastest 5,000m runner in the world this year and much will depend on whether he participates with the 10,000m final taking place just 36 hours before the heats of the shorter distance event are held. Ends

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Athletes depart for Daegu today