RABAT, August 31, 2019 - Rodrigue Kwizera, one of the few athletes that represented Burundi at the 12th African Games, thinks he still has a long way to go to reach the top level. He may be king in Burundi, but competing on the international stage is a whole new ball game for him.

"I didn’t do well as I do in Burundi but there is a lot of experience that I have benefited from these African Games. Competing with stars makes someone do better than they were doing before.”

Kwizera expressed that he tried his best in the Men's 5000m event even though he couldn’t win a medal. He clocked 14:09.35 to finish in 16th place. “I've got a heart problem, and this combined with the climate made me limit the speed up to the end. It’s a great honour to travel to other countries to represent your country in any given competition because you are considered an ambassador. In my particular case, I can’t say that I did something admirable but I hope in following competitions, I will have improved. I can’t help indicating the problem of supporters which is still a big hindrance for athletics and even other sports in Burundi,” Kwizera affirmed.

Kwizera would like to be like the Ethiopian long-distance runner Kenenisa Bekele, the world record and Olympic record holder in both 5,000 and 10,000 metres events. “I believe that hard work makes someone go far. I’m going to make a lot of effort to reach my dreams. Some members of my family used to do athletics but unfortunately, they didn’t win any medals like I did in Bujumbura.”