Nakaayi, Nanyondo in Belgrade for World Athletics Indoor Championships

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s middle distance runners Halima Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo have arrived in Belgrade, Serbia to take part in the World Athletics Indoor Championships.

The global indoor action slated for March 18-20th will be returning for the first time in four years.

Uganda’s only two representatives left the country two days ago after undergoing several weeks of training.

Nakaayi will be competing in the 800m race, while the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Nanyondo will be competing in the 1500m race at the event.

Nakaayi will compete against a tough field composed of top athletes like in-form 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson and Jamaica’s Natoya Goule.

According to the current rankings, Nakaayi sits third on the log with her time of 1 minute and 59.58 seconds, below Hodgkinson who has the best time of the season standing at 1:57.20 while Goule has 1:58.46.

Nakaayi has been improving her form since the beginning of the season running a good time and most recently in the World Athletics Indoor Tour Silver event in France where she became the first woman to run under 2 minutes this year.

Having struggled to find her good form last year after suffering a knee problem in April, the 800m reigning World Champion was far below her best before and after the Tokyo Olympic Games. In the Olympic Games, Nakaayi fell out before the finals of the 800m, coming last in the semifinals in a time of 2:04.44.

In the same development, Nanyondo who equally didn’t impress in the Olympics will face stiff competition over the 1500m race. Nanyondo’s season-best is 4:03.54 minutes, putting her sixth-best in the season.

Nanyondo will battle the Ethiopian duo of Gudaf Tsegay who has the best time in the season of 3:54.77 minutes, and Axumawit Embaye.

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