To rejoice Muvunyi’s African record is to promote mediocrity

It’s official and until someone else does it, Rwanda’s very own Cliff Hermas Muvunyi is the proud holder of the African record in the Paralympics Men’s 400m T46 category.The 23-year was the fastest qualifier in heat two after clocking in 49.75secs, hence setting an African record in the process. To say that Muvunyi was the country’s star performer during the 2012 London Paralympic Games would be a total understatement, but we can go with that, after all, he still won nowt despite being rated hot favourite to win, if not gold, at least a medal.He beat Dena Pathirannehelag of Sri Lanka and Gunther Matzinger of Austria, who finished in second and third overall positions with personal best time of 49.82 and 49.91 respectively.In the final, he raced to fifth, having qualified fastest earlier in the day with a new African record. Austria’s Gunther Matzinger went on to win gold.Muvunyi was due on the track again last night in the final of the men’s T46 800m, where he was looking to do better. Rwanda’s medal hopeful posted a season best 1:58.18 to qualify for the final.With little or no attention on him at the London Paralympic Games, Muvunyi shot to the limelight, not just for being one of only two Africans to qualify for the final of the Men’s 400m T46 event but importantly for doing it in a record time.Cote d’Ivoire’s Kimou Addoh, who finished third in 50.17, was the other African. Winning medals is a dream of every Olympic or Paralympics athlete, but because everyone can’t be winner there is always the small but important issues of new personal, track, competition and world records as consolation achievements.Which is why, Muvunyi, even though he returns home from London without a medal, should be hailed for his achievements, and he’d deserve any sort of kudos he gets from now onwards.Like anyone else on the Team Rwanda delegation, he went to London an unknown entity despite winning a gold medal for Rwanda for the first time in the history of the All Africa Games in the 400m T46 in Maputo, Mozambique.But after the London Games, he surely will be one of the country’s most famous Paralympian, especially after his other team mates failed to make any meaningful impression.Theoneste Nsengimana missed out on the men’s T46 1,500m final and Theogene Hakizimana was 10th in the men’s under-82.5kg powerlifting.The men’s sitting volleyball team – the first time Rwanda have been represented in a team sport at the Paralympics – lost all four of their pool matches but at least beat Morocco in the race for ninth-place.Going into the 2012 Paralympic Games, Muvunyi was be trying to add to Rwanda’s medal tally at the prestigious games with the only one being Jean de Dieu Nkundareba’s bronze at the 2004 Athens Games in the same event.It’s not easy for a whole country to rejoice just an African record when we should be celebrating a Paralympic medal, but since we are not used to winning at the very highest level, who can blame us for riding on the back of any achievement that puts Rwanda in good light on the face of international sport.Yes, that’s true; a Rwandan from the slums of Nyamirambo, who, when you consider the fact that he sometimes struggles to get two full meals a day, is the new African record owner, and we can rejoice, is statement enough to show that we are prepared to continue getting satisfaction from mediocrity.