Stockholm setback for Uganda athletes
Unbearable Miss. Female runners Nanyondo (L) and Nakaayi were looking forward to improved shows in Stockholm. PHOTOS | ISMAIL KEZAALA & AFP
What you need to know:
- Stuck. The athletes had anticipated to feature at this Sunday’s Stockholm DL Meeting in Sweden but they were surprised by their manager Jurrie van der Velden in Monaco who told them that they were returning home.
Joshua Cheptegei and his counterparts are still in awe almost a week after he successfully broke the 16-year-old 5000m world record (WR) at the Monaco Diamond League in France.
Cheptegei, his training partner Stephen Kissa and middle-distance pair of Winnie Nanyondo and Halimah Nakaayi returned home via the Uganda - Kenya border on Sunday.
Self quarantine
They are all under a mandatory self-quarantine at Cheptegei’s home in Kapchorwa.
Whereas Cheptegei attained his objective, lowering Kenenisa Bekele’s previous WR mark by almost two seconds to 12:35.36, his colleagues wanted to do more. They had anticipated to feature at this Sunday’s Stockholm DL Meeting in the Swedish capital but they were surprised by their manager Jurrie van der Velden in Monaco who told them that they were returning home.
“He didn’t want to disappoint us before the races. So he informed us after running in Monaco that we were returning home first,” Nakaayi told this paper.
“We thought we were going to be in Europe for sometime as we usually do so that we could get more races but we were told that some travel documents were not yet ready,” said world 800m champion.
Single permission
Daily Monitor understands that these runners were only granted permission out of Uganda for only the Monaco event and their movement in the European Union was still overshadowed by the coronavirus restrictions both home and abroad.
“Manager Jurrie told us that we have to wait but we would have loved to be in Stockholm and try to keep getting better ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.”
In Monaco, Cheptegei grabbed most of the headlines but on the same night at the Stade Louis II, Nakaayi produced a new 1000m national record (NR) of two minutes and 32.12 seconds despite finishing fifth.
“I was happy with the NR but I think I could have done better,” said the 25-year-old. She erased the previous NR mark of 2:34.88 which she ran at the Istaf Berlin Meeting in Germany on September 2, 2018. Her compatriot Nanyondo came eighth in 2:36.54.
“Nanyondo and I really missed the tartan of Namboole (Stadium) for about 2-3 weeks before Monaco after it was sealed off to become a Covid-19 quarantine centre. That is why we felt staying in Europe would have helped us but we now just have to wait and see what comes from the manager,” added Nakaayi.
The quartet is not resting though where they are monitored in quarantine. They are following a training program to keep them in shape as they work out new travel solutions to feature at other forthcoming DL or Continental Tour events. The Rome Meeting on September 17 in Italy could be the next realistic event for them on the re-modelled DL calendar.
DIAMOND LEAGUE
2020 CALENDAR
June 11: Oslo, Norway (Impossible Games - Exhibition event)
July 9: Zurich, Switzerland (Inspiration Games - Exhibition event)
August 14: Monaco, France
August 23: Stockholm, Sweden
September 2: Lausanne, Switzerland (Exhibition street event)
September 4: Brussels, Belgium (Exhibition event)
September 17: Rome/Naples, Italy
September 25: Doha, Qatar
October 17: City TBC, China
UGANDA’s D.LEAGUE WINS
June 13, 2019: Oslo, Norway: Halimah Nakaayi (800m)
June 30, 2019: Eugene, USA: Joshua Cheptegei (2-Mile Run)
Aug 18, 2019: Birmingham, UK: Ronald Musagala (1500m)
Aug 24, 2019: Paris, France: Ronald Musagala (1500m)
Aug 29, 2019: Zurich: Joshua Cheptegei (5000m)
Aug 14, 2020: Monaco, France: Joshua Cheptegei (5000m)
