Muvunyi expects tough battle

MEDAL hopeful Hermas Cliff Muvunyi is anticipating a tough race in his bid to win a medal at the ongoing Paralympic Games when he competes in the Men’s 800m T46 final tonight at the Olympic stadium in London.Muvunyi said yesterday that he is fully focused on winning a medal in the 800m final. “I came to London hoping to win two medals in 400m and 800m. I failed in the 400m, now I have to focus on the 800m.”“I was confident going into the 400m final, having qualified with the fastest time, but things didn’t go according to plan and I ended up finishing fifth. However, on Saturday night I will be ready to run the biggest race of my life,” he told Times Sport.He added, “Failure to win a medal in the 400m still hurts and I pray that I compensate that disappointment by winning a medal tomorrow (today).” The 24-year old athlete faces stiff challenge from six Africans, Tunisia’s Fouzai Mohammed, Kenya’s trio of Stanley Cheruiyot, Abraham Tarbei and Jonah Chesum Kipkemoi, Algeria’s Samir Nouioua and Morocco’s El Harti Abdelhadi.However, another serious threat is Austria’s Gunther Matzinger, who will be aiming for a double having won 400m final on Tuesday.In the first round, Muvunyi clocked one minute, fifty eight seconds and eighteen micro seconds to finish second behind Tunisia’s Mohamed who used 1.58.08 to win the race. Kenya’s Cheruiyot finished third with 1.59.23 in his heat.Muvunyi missed out on clinching his first medal in the 400m T46 when he finished in fifth place, although he broke his own African record in the men’s 400m final.In 2004, Jean de Dieu Nkundabera wrote history after becoming the first Rwandan to win a medal (bronze) in the T46 men’s 800 metre race, with a time of 1:58.95 in Athens.

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Muvunyi expects tough battle