Nanyondo begins season

Deep down, Winnie Nanyondo still carries some disappointment since missing out on a podium in fourth after the 800m final at the Doha World Championships in Qatar four months back.

However, the middle-distance runner will look back at last season with great positives. Those include; pushing her partner Halimah Nakaayi to that 800m gold in Doha as well as setting five national records (NR) indoor and outdoor.

Nanyondo is still itching for championship silverware and she has a deliberate plan to try erase the Doha memories by shining at the Olympic Games which come in about six months. Tonight, the 26-year-old will begin her season in Europe, seeking positives when she lines-up for the 1500m event at the Karlsruhe Indoor Meeting in Germany.

“Not bad, just cold,” said Nanyondo after landing in Germany this week. She did not rest much after Doha, opting to go for endurance in the hills of Kapchorwa with Nakaayi and Ronald Musagala before returning to Kampala for speed.

“We have had a much shorter period with speed work,” said her coach Addy Ruiter. “The indoor tracks are 200m long with sharp curves,” added the Dutch man.

At Karlsruhe, Nanyondo will run her maiden indoor race over the 1500m in a strong field which includes world 3000m steeplechase record holder Beatrice Chepkoech, her fellow Kenyan Winny
Chebet and Ethiopian Axumawit Embaye.

She could attempt a new NR here with the current at 4:19.50 set by Dorcus Inzikuru in Italy 2005.