Over 3000 athletes, locals and internationals, have so far confirmed their participation at the forthcoming 2023 edition of the Kigali International Peace Marathon slated for Sunday, June 11 in Kigali.
A total of 20 Rwandan athletes are camping in Gicumbi for intensive training sessions as they look to impress and take medals away from international elite marathoners expected in the country for the long-distance running race.
In this article, Times Sport looks at Rwandan athletes to watch at the much-anticipated marathon.
Adeline Musabyeyezu
Age: 25
Club: APR
The female middle-distance runner is one to watch at Sunday’s Peace Marathon. Last year, she put up an impressive performance that saw her strike a gold medal in the women's half marathon at the same competition.
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The APR Athletics club athlete ran the half-marathon in 1h14&039;09", 11 seconds ahead of Burundian Elevanie Nimbona (1h14'20") while Kenyan Doris Jepkoech went on to finish third to win the bronze.
Martha Yankurije
Age: 28
Club: Nyamasheke AC
The 28-year-old athlete is also a gold medalist of the peace marathon, a feat she will be looking to repeat on Sunday.
In 2021, she was one of the two Rwandans who won a gold medal in the half marathon race at the annual event, a performance that earned her a wild card to participate at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Yankurije is an experienced runner with lots of kilometres in her feet. She made her official debut in athletics with Nyamasheke athletics club during the 2014 Kigali Half-Marathon where she made a breakthrough in a strong field of experienced rivals to finish fifth.
The following year, she made her debut in the annual Kigali International Peace Marathon, and put up yet another impressive show to finish seventh in women’s half-marathon.
Her hard work has also taken her places as she travelled to her dream countries, including Japan, where she spent three weeks of intensive preparations prior to competing in the 2019 All-Africa Games in Morocco.
Robert Kajuga
Age: 38
Club: Mountain Club
Kajuga is an Olympian who ran at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The veteran also played at the African Senior Athletics Championship and the IAAF World Cross Country Championships.
After his Olympic debut in 2012, where he finished 14th, he began participating in longer-distance road races. During the same year, he won a 20-km road race in Kigali.’
He returns to the Peace Marathon looking to improve last edition’s performance where he struck bronze in the men&039;s half marathon, behind Kenyan gold winner Shadrack Kimining (1h04'30) and Ugandan Gilbert Kamutwire who clocked 1h05'03" to strike silver.
The 38-year-old is quickly pushing to return to big stages of international athletics competitions after he finished the five-year doping ban from participating at events organised by the World Athletics since 2016 for failure to take an out-of-competition drugs test.
John Hakizimana
Age: 26
Club: APR
Hakizimana is one of two athletes who qualified for the Tokyo 2020 Games after winning a bronze medal at the 2019 World Military Games in Wuhan, China.
His participation in the Tokyo 2020 Games will be his first experience ever to compete with the world’s elite in the Olympic Games, just like his brother did.
Hakizimana possesses a personal best 1:02:26 in half-marathon which he posted at the 2018 IAAF World Half Marathon Championship staged in Valencia, Spain and 2h 11 minutes 19 secs in the marathon category.
Born in Nyagatare District, Hakizimana started running in August 2015 for APR’s junior team.
His quick rise in marathon running helped him qualify to compete at different international athletics competitions, especially in long-distance categories, including Kigali International Peace Marathon and East African Military Games among others.
It could be his defining year for him to take home a medal at the Peace Marathon after multiple attempts.