Kajuga looking forward to Moscow with optimism

THE National 10,000m and 5000m champion Robert Kajuga is upbeat as he plots to improve his performance at the forthcoming IAAF World Championships to be held from August 10-18 in Moscow Russia.The 28-year-old who made his international debut at last year’s Summer Olympics in London, will be one of the two Rwandans along with Jean Pierre Mvuyekure making their maiden appearance at the championships.Speaking from his training base in Ngong, Kenya, Kajuga told Times Sports yesterday he has had good preparations and hopes to make a mark in Russia.“We have had good preparations compared to last year, prior to competing in London Olympics and now what is left is to know and be familiar with the competitive environment in Russia,” he said on phone.“After a couple of weeks training at good facilities alongside Kenya’s elite athletes, I feel am ready to make my mark at the world championships, my only worry is to find a winning strategy against my opponents. It will be a congested field full of elite athletes including double Olympic champion Mo Farah of Britain, Ethiopians led by record holder Kenenisa Bekele, American Bernard Lagat as well as a host of Kenyans.While Kajuga and Mvuyekure are preparing to compete in the World Athletics Championships, the trio of Claudette Mukasakindi [10,000m], Frederick Habakurama [marathon] and Epiphanie Nyirabarame [women marathon] have been training in Kenya ahead of the 2013 Francophonie Games set to be held in Nice, France later this year.Kajuga and Mvuyekure qualified for the World Athletics Championship after posting good performances in the 2012 London Olympic Games.The SEC Academy athlete, Kajuga set a personal best time of 27:56.67 to finish 14th in the 10,000m men’s final at the Olympic Stadium on his debut.The 10,000m national champion went into the competition with a personal best time of 28:03:24, but made the most drastic improvement of his career, setting an impressive time in one of the most closely contested races ever.His time was 35 seconds shy of the national record of 27:22:28 which was set by Dieudonne Disi on September 14, 2007 in the Memorial Van Damme race in Belgium.Mvuyekure beat the qualifying mark set by IAAF during the Road Race code-named Mangyongdae Prize Marathon held early this year in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).He clocked 2hrs, 13 minutes and 19 seconds to finish third in the ace, which was won by Ethiopia’s Negassa Ketema Bekele.