Nanyondo into World Indoor 1,500m final

Belgrade, Serbia | THE INDEPENDENT | Middle distance ace Winnie Nanyondo has finished second in heat one of the 1,500m race to qualify for the World Indoor Championship final race in Belgrade, Serbia.

Nanyondo, 28 who was the first Ugandan to race at the event after over ten years, failed to match Ethiopia’s Axumawit Embaye but still qualified automatically for the final after coming second.

The 2018 Commonwealth bronze medalist crossed the finish line in 4 minutes and 06.11 seconds, behind in-form Embaye who won the heat in 4:04.83 minutes, Romania’s Claudia Mihaela came third in 4:06.66 minutes.

The first three runners from each of the heats and the next fastest three others across all heats qualify automatically for the final that is slated for tomorrow on 19th March 2022.

Although Nanyondo qualified for the final, the 28-years old came in under her season-best time which stands at 4:03.54 minutes, meaning she will have room to improve her time in the final as she bids to reach the podium.

In heat two, Ethiopia’s Hirut Meshesha  emerged first in 4:05.75 minutes ahead of USA’s Josette Norisi who came second in 4:06.27 minutes. Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay won heat three when she finished in 4:06.71 minutes before Canada’s Lucia Staffod who came second in 4:07.95 minutes.

The results across all heats mean that none of the runners finished under 4 minutes, and, only Axumawit Embaye and Hirut Meshesha had a better time than Uganda’s runner.

Uganda last appeared in the world indoor championship in the 2012 edition that was in Istanbul, Turkey. At the ongoing Belgrade championship, only two athletes, Nanyondo and her compatriot Halima Nakaayi are representing Uganda.

Nakaayi who is the reigning world outdoor champion over the 800m distance, will be racing tomorrow over the same distance.

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