Kampala set for World X-Country Championships

What you need to know:

  • Kampala will on Sunday host the prestigious IAAF World Cross Country Championships at Kololo Airstrip.
  • Inaugurated in 1973, the biennial event will see hundreds of athletes vying for senior men’s individual medals, senior men’s team medals, senior women’s individual medals and senior women’s team medals among others.

KAMPALA.

As far as Kololo Independence Ground course director Faustino Kiwa is concerned, only time stands between Uganda and the 42nd edition of the IAAF World Cross-Country Championship. The transformations that included setting a mount, digging a dip and planting grass on the tarmac, at the Kololo course are complete ahead of the event this Sunday.

“This is a very beautiful course,” Paul Okello, one of Kiwa’s colleagues said.

“This event has been held on muddy and ice courses before. So we decided to go green all through out to give the runners a different feeling,” he added.

If Okello’s statement is a self endorsement then we can read into the comments of former Ugandan athlete Herbert Magombe – now based in the United Kingdom – and Australia captain Liam Adams after his team toured the course yesterday morning.

“It is a great course that should work for team Australia. We runners that are really aiming for the prizes but most of the team will look at top 20 finishes,” Adams said.

“The course is largely flat and fast. Most of the team is from summer training where we do not do a lot of hill climbing so this is absolutely favourable for most of the team,” Adams, who revealed they are still coping with the time zones added.

TEAMS’ ARRIVAL SCHEDULES

Arriving today
Canada (2) 8.55pm
Japan (31) 1pm
Lebanon (3) 12.15pm
Sri Lanka (3) 2.10pm
USA (2) 9.25am
Thursday
Algeria (20) 1.50pm
Belgium (2) 8.55pm
Brazil (4) 7pm
Canada (27) 3.50am
Denmark (8) 10.25pm
Ethiopia (44) 12.15pm
France (6) 8.55pm
Madgascar (1) 12.15pm
Morocco (20) 1.50pm
Nigeria (21) 8.45 pm
Spain (30) 8.55pm
USA (1) 2.10pm
Friday
Benin (2) 1.40am
Botswana (14) 7pm
Cameroon (3) 9pm
CAR (1) 7.40pm
Comoros (6) 7am
DR Congo (4) 3.30pm
Ecuador (5) 1.15am
Egypt (3) 12.15pm
Eritrea (30) 3.15am
Britain & NI (27) 8.20pm
Italy (13) 12.15pm
Jordan (1) 1.50pm
Kenya (43) 4.45pm
Kuwait (15) 3.15am
Lebanon (7) 12.15pm
Lesotho (2) 7pm
Madgascar (2) 9pm
Mexico (4) 1.50pm
Namibia (3) 7pm
Peru (20) 1.40pm
Portugal (3) 10.20pm
China (11) 12.15pm
Romania (2) 22.25pm
Rwanda (7) 2.20pm
Senegal (3) 12pm
Seychelles (3) 7pm
Sierra Leone (4) 8.20am
Somalia (4) 12pm
South Africa (24) 12pm
S. Sudan (19) 5.35pm
Tajikistan (3) 9.30am
Tanzania (41) 12pm
The Gambia (1) 8.20am
Turkey (4) 3.50am
Uganda (44) 8am
USA (4) 12pm
Zambia (3) 8.20 am
Zimbabwe (5) 8.30 pm
Saturday
Liberia (3) 8.20am