August 1-5 African Athletics Championships Rwanda’s leading track and field female runner Salome Nyirarukundo has intensified training ahead of the forthcoming 21st edition of African Athletics Senior Championships in Nigeria. This year’s continental championships are scheduled for August 1-5 at the Asaba Township Stadium in the Delta State, Nigeria. The reigning Kigali International Peace Half Marathon champion is the only Rwandan athlete to have attained the entry standard time for the biennial continental showpiece where she will be competing in the women’s 10,000 metres. At the moment, the 20-year old is undergoing is a rigorous residential training camp in Kenya at the Iten High Altitude Training Center in Eldoret from where she revealed to Saturday Sport in a telephone interview on Friday that her prime target is scooping a podium finish in Nigeria. “I have been here for the past two weeks and so far the training is going pretty well. Track competitions are always tough for me but I want to challenge myself this year and God willing I can win my first medal in African championships,” she noted The APR athletics club star attained her entry standard time during this year’s Commonwealth Games staged from April 4-15 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia where she posted thirty two minutes and 12 seconds in the women’s 10,000m race. “This is always a tough competition you know, because I will be competing with the best elite athletes from across the continent. However, I believe I am doing my best in preparations and I am confident everything is possible,” she added. The entry standard time in the women’s 10,000m category is 35 minutes and 20 seconds. The minima must have been achieved during the period of October 1, 2017 to July 8, 2018 and achieved in an official competition organised in conformity with IAAF Rules. In 2016, the Rutsiro born athlete debuted at the 20th edition that was held in Durban South Africa, finishing fourth in the women 10,000m after clocking 31:45:82, well below the minima time of 32 minutes and 15 seconds to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. This year’s showdown will be used to select Africa’s team to the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup to be staged in Ostrava, Czech Republic on September 8-9. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
