Ugandan runners and best friends Halimah Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo posted disappointing times in their respective 800m and 1500m races at the Wanda Diamond League in Rome on Thursday.
World Champion Nakaayi came in at 10th, to finish second last, with 2:01.15 while Nanyondo came in at ninth with 4:06:17 in the 1500m.
The former yet again failed to beat the two-minute barrier having won silver with 2:00:87 in Hengelo recently, in what was a slow race, per her standards.
She will now have a lot of work to do to defend the title she won in Doha come the World Championships come July in Oregon.
In 2021, she only failed to run below two minutes just twice in her six races with 2:02.52 and 2:00.63 at FBK Games in Hengelo and Kip Keino Classic in Nairobi respectively.
Nakaayi is a two-time National champion and one-time All Africa Games bronze medalist.
She ran 1:58.03 to set her personal best in 800m last year in Monaco at the Stade Louis II, and many Ugandans will hope that she can replicate such performance come next month.
Olympics champion Athing Mu, back for the first time since recovering from COVID-19, eased through the race with 1:57.01 to post the year’s World Lead of 1:57.01.
France’s Lamotte Renelle came second but Jamaica’s Goule Natoya (6th), Australia’s Bisset Catriona (7th) and Great Britain’s Jemma Reekie (9th) struggled to find pace just like Nakaayi.
Courtesy Photos
