Rwanda is arguably the least performing country in the region when it comes to athletics.

Only a handful of Rwandan runners have competed at the highest level over the years. Names like Disi Dieudonne, Claudette Mukasakindi and Salome Nyirarukundo come to mind when you think about those who have made it to the top.

However, according to Rwanda Athletics Federation (RAF), there are provisions and a bold seven-year plan to unearth and produce talents that will be flying high the Rwandan flag on global scene.

Weekend Sport’s Damas Sikubwabo sat down with RAF President, Fidèle Mubiligi, this week where the official shared insights into local athletics, what to expect from the 7-year plan, and the challenges faced this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Excerpts:

2020 has been a long year and shook everything up. How has the year been for local athletics? What are your main takeaways?

Just like every other sport, 2020 has been a challenging year. But, I think, athletics was hit extra hard because, for the first time in 15 years, our flagship event – the Kigali International Peace Marathon – was not held.

All activities that we had planned for this year were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. For months, since June, athletes were allowed to do individual training but we were not allowed to organise competitions.

Then, last week, the 2020 national championships finally took place but the standard was not at the level we wanted. Normally, we separately organise different events for youths, juniors and seniors, but this time we were forced to combine all the categories in one contest.

The Kigali Peace Marathon was postponed three times before it was cancelled last month. What was your reaction to that? When is its 2021 edition?

My reaction was simple: I had to accept what I could not change. We had to put safety first; safety of the organisers and the participants.

The marathon was initially due in May, then we moved it to June when the pandemic started. A couple months later, it was clear coronavirus would still be around in June, so we pushed it to October. We had hoped the event would take place, but it was not possible.

Organising Kigali International Peace Marathon takes time and requires a lot of resources. After discussions with partners, it was agreed that the best solution to was to cancel it and focus on next year’s edition.

The exact date for the 2021 event has not been determined yet, but I believe it will be around May or June like it was always been.

Weekend Sport understands you have established a seven-year plan for Rwanda athletics. What do hope to achieve with the plan?

Actually, the plan was initially for ten years, but we recently revised and adjusted it into a seven-year plan – from 2020 to 2027. The whole purpose of the plan is to build a firm foundation for sustainable development of Rwanda athletics.

At the end of the seven years, we will have a working structure from the sector level up to the national level where young talents are scouted, trained and given all the necessities to shine on international stage.

We will need the support of the sports ministry and other stakeholders, but we have a starting point already. A few private corporate partners have come on board to help us in the journey, and we are hopeful many more will join with time.

For Rwanda to be a competitive athletics country, like our neighbors, we have to build the sport from our young people. That is the foundation we are trying to set up.

Do you have enough qualified coaches to unearth talent in every sector in the country?

We do not have enough coaches yet. The seven-year plan also includes training and equipping coaches with technical know-how of what it takes to produce a professional athlete.

There are 143 athletics coaches to date, and the target is to have about 1,000 qualified coaches by the year 2027.

Upon completion of their coaching clinics, the coaches will be deployed in schools and youth centres to train youngsters.

What will be the age bracket for target athletes?

We are going to be looking for young talents between 12 and 13 years of age. We anticipate that we will have at least 3,880 athletes from the programme; 50 per cent boys and the other half will be girls.

To achieve that, we have set up a development commission in the athletics federation. Their responsibility will be solely to ensure that the implementation plan is followed through, and targets are being achieved.