Disi returns for Olympics

RWANDA’S all-time most successful athlete Dieudonne Disi has returned on the track in search for a slot to compete in the full marathon race at this year’s London’s Olympic Games.The 32-year old athlete who has spent two years without participating in any competition told Times Sport yesterday in an exclusive interview that he is back and will compete in Lille Marathon scheduled for May 13 were he is targeting to clinch an Olympic slot.“I have been training in Ngogwe, Kenya for quite some time and the preparations were so successful. I am now back in Kigali to fine tune myself before heading to France.”“I will be heading to Paris with an aim of running under the 02:18:00 laid down by the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) for qualification to London.”Disi last participated in an international competition in 2010 during the Delhi Commonwealth games. He bowed out of the marathon race after running 21km and spent the whole of last year engaged in administration issues with the local athletics federation before his team was kicked out of office late August due to mismanagement.He, however, had a successful stint in 2009 where he dominated the spot light with a series of top notch displays in Europe and Asia.Disi pulled out of the World Cross Country Championship in Amman, Jordan to concentrate on the 33rd Paris Marathon and where he finished 18th.During the Berlin World Athletics Championship in August, Disi, who was in the leading pack, dropped out after suffering a nagging pain in his right thigh.He claimed his first major silverware during the September’s 32nd Paris-Versailles race (16 km) in France after finishing second (48minutes and one second).A few weeks later, he scooped gold in the Francophone Games in Beirut.For his heroics, he was later named athlete of the Games and consequently awarded the ‘Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie’ medal by Lebanese first lady Wafaa Sleiman during the closing ceremony.On top of the medal, Disi also pocketed 9000 Euros (Rwf7.5m) and was given free air-tickets for the following two years. In October, Disi won another gold medal in the Reims Half marathon race in France. He set the fastest time of the event after clocking one hour, one minute and thirteen seconds. There was still more to come from the former RDF soldier. In the IAAF silver label road race dubbed Classique Internationale Marseille-Cassismoreless, Disi produced another astonishing run to win the 31st edition.Disi’s run was finally halted in the New Delhi half marathon where he finished 6th.Next week, in Lille, Disi will be aiming to be the third Rwandan to book a place in London’s Marathon race following Jean Pierre Mvuyekure who ran 2: 17: 32 to hit the ‘B’ standard qualifying time for this year’s Games and Adrien Niyonshuti in Cycling.

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Disi returns for Olympics