Tanzania pins medal hopes on quartet at Beijing meet

Dar es Salaam. Tanzanian long distance runners will be in action today as the 15th edition of the IAAF World Championship begins in Beijing.

Medals have been elusive for Tanzanian runners, but the quartet- Fabian Joseph, Alphonce Felix and Ezekiel Jaffery and Ismail Juma, have a real chance of making their nation proud.

Joseph, Felix and Jaffery will be competing in marathon, the field that Kenyans have enjoyed dominance for years, while Juma will fly the Tanzanian flag in the 10,000-metre race.

Athletics Tanzania (AT) president Anthony Mtaka, who is in Beijing with the team, told The Citizen via telephone that the quartet were in high spirits ahead of their respective races.

“Our athletes here are in high spirits; we understand that the competition will be stiff, but the lads have refused to lose without a fight,” said Mataka.

“It is my belief too that all four runners will grab medals in their respective races because they have had lengthy training for this showpiece.”

Joseph, a seasoned marathoner, nursed hopes of defying the odds at the championships, saying he was well prepared for the challenge.

“We want to end Tanzania’s medal drought at this edition. We have trained hard, so we are mentally and physically fit ahead of the competition.

“We are here as competitors and not as also-rans, so I would like to call on our fellow Tanzanians to pray for us as we bid to overturn the losing streak,” said the Arusha-based runner.

The 2015 World Athletics Championships event will be the largest sporting event to take place at the Beijing National Stadium (“Bird’s Nest”) since the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Meanwhile; Mtaka said that the AT had received sports gear from Nike as part of their efforts to promote athletics in the country.