Daily News
Friday, April 29, 2016
The Athletic Tanzania (AT) First Vice- President (Administration), William Kalaghe said that everything was in order and already teams have started to pour in Dar es Salaam ahead of the two-day showdown.
Kalaghe said that the teams which will take part in the event will be staying at the Salvation Army hostel located at Kurasini in the city, while the host Tanzania ho had pitched its training camp in Kibaha are back in the city ready for today’s event opening.
Speaking about the team’s camp which comprised 26 athletes had pitched at the Filbert Bayi hostel in Mkuza, Kibaha, he unveiled the training went well and the team is ready for the major youth tournament.
He said that the two-week camp had gone smoothly and the team had a two sessions training programme conducted in the morning and evening.
On his side a member of AT Executive Committee, Tullo Chambo unveiled that the event will be televised live by Azam TV who is among the event sponsors, other sponsors are Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) and International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).
Chambo unveiled the teams which will take part in the event are Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Sudan and Zanzibar, according to AT the competition will be officially opened today afternoon at 2:00 pm.
The Tanzania Mainland athletic youth team Coach Mwinga Mwanjala is optimistic and confident that her team will excel in the event due to the intensive preparation it underwent in Kibaha.
Meanwhile, Rwanda national junior athletic team on Tuesday left Kigali by road ahead of the regional event. The team is composed of a total of seven athletes, three boys and four girls, under the guidance of coaches Anicet Kanyabugoyi and Innocente Uwamahoro.
The athletes will be vying for medals in the 4th regional track and field competition. Other countries include Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda and Rwanda. The two day event will also act as qualifier for the IAAF World Junior Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland from July 19 - 24.
“Preparations have been pretty good and they (athletes) are focusing on winning medals and qualify for the world Junior Games,” said Rwanda Athletics Federation (RAF) Secretary General Johnson Rukundo in an interview with Times Sport of Rwanda on Monday.
The seven athletes include the trio of Salome Nyirarukundo (5000m), Beatha Nishimwe (1,500m) and Jean Marie Vianney Myasiro (10,000m), who have already booked tickets to World Championship.
The other four are Jeannette Uwambajimana (5000m) and Honorine Iribagiza (800m) and two boys James Sugira (1500m) and Ildephonse Nkejumuto (800m). The team is set to return to the country on May 1.
This will be the first time for Rwandan athletes to compete in the World U-20 Championships after going through national trials and qualifications - initially local athletes have been participating through invitations.