Nakaayi will win more more medals, coach

The sky is only the limit for 800m champion Halimah Nakaayi and she “will win many more medals,” says Raphael Kashaija, the coach who discovered the new world champion.

Nakaayi, 24, became the second Ugandan woman after Dorcus Inzikuru to win a gold medal at the biennial games with her win in Doha last week.
“The sky is now the limit. She has reached the pinnacle of athletics. But when success comes, you get hungrier. I know she can now go for the Olympics,” Kashaija said in an interview on Friday.

“It was long overdue because she is one of the most decorated athletes at the junior level the country has. This medal has come because of maturity. She is now an eight-year old athlete and she will win many more medals.”

Eight-year wait
Nakaayi’s first medal came in 2011 in the Commonwealth Youth Games in Douglas, the capital of Isle of Man, even though she still feels she was robbed of the 800m medal that denied her a double.

But she never shone again, running in the shadows of ‘little sister’ Winnie Nanyondo until 2017 when she won silver in the Islamic Solidarity Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

She went on to become the flagbearer for Uganda at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, finishing 17th in a time of 2:00.63. Kashaija recalls moments of frustration especially during the qualification to the Olympics.

“Her progression has not been easy but the eight-year’s work has finally paid off. Very many times she got frustrated because things were not going her way but becoming a world champion is something so special,” Kashaija said.

Bonus of hard work
The small but fast runner pulled off an upset to win the women’s 800 meters title last Monday beating favourite Ajee Wilson with bronze as she ran like a possessed woman in the final 100 meters. Nakaayi ended up setting a new national record of one minute 58.04 seconds.
Kashaija, who has trained Nakaayi since 2009 at Standard Athletics Club and now Uganda Wildlife Authority, since 2006 when she signed a contract, believes the victory heralds a new era.

“Today you are a champion, but maintaining it is so difficult as you become everyone’s target. Everyone will now start studying her running. But I will tell you, Halimah is going nowhere. She is only 24 and has the right attitude,” Kashaija said.

Lucky?
Nakaayi came into the Doha World Championships in fantastic form, having spent most of this season in Netherlands where her Global Sports Management teammates train from. Nakaayi signed with the company in 2016 for facilitation purposes at the time Nike also offered her a new contract.

She was being looked at as potential.
She won bronze in the African Games held in Rabat, Morocco in August behind Ethiopian Hirut Meshesha and Moroccan Rababe Arafi. She rose to a new level when she won the 800-metre gold to join Inzikuru in that exclusive club of world champions from Uganda.

It all began to fall into place when perennial rivals to the title, including South Africa’s Caster Semenya, the titleholder and three-times champion, did not take part as well as Burundian Francine Niyonsaba. The due were absent because of the global athletics’ governing body the IAAF’s recently-introduced testosterone regulations.
“As a matter of fact Semenya and Niyonsaba were in a league of their own but now it is an open race and anything is possible.”

Her only major rival, Wilson who had won six of eight races outdoors this season, was unable to match the stout runner. “Halimah was too much for her competitors and that is the kind of race any athlete dreams of,” Kashaija said.

Nakaayi, who was transformed from 400-meters when she joined Kashaija, is now turning her attention to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
“I am really excited to see what she can do at the Olympics,” Kashaija noted.

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