Is it game over for Dorcus Inzikuru?

By Charles Mutebi

Inzikuru’s profile
Born:              February 2, 1982 (age 31)
Home town:   Arua District
Height:            5’ 4” (1.62 m)
Weight:          110.2 lbs (50 kg)

Best career achievements
3000 m steeplechase
2005 World Championships, Gold
2005 World Athletics Final, Gold
2006 Commonwealth Games, Gold

5000 m
1999 African Games, 6th
2000 World Junior Cham’ps, Gold
2002 Commonwealth Games, 4th
2002 African Games, Silver
2003 Afro-Asian Games, Bronze

Dorcus Inzikuru’s efforts to reclaim lost glory remain a great testament to the human spirit.

But photos of the runner being carried by medics after crossing the finish-line in the weekend’s national cross country championships in Jinja will raise one question again. Is it time to quit?true

The 31 year-old finished third in the Jinja event that partly doubled as a filter for athletes to be considered for residential training ahead of March’s World Cross Country Championships in Poland.

As general secretary Uganda Athletics Federation Beatrice Ayikoru confirmed, Inzikuru’s final position at the weekend means she will be on the list of athletes selected for camp, which is due for release tomorrow.

But she also warned: “There is no automatic selection for the event in Poland. The final list will be made by the technical committee and it will depend on how well the athletes respond to training while in camp.”

Chances are Inzikuru will make the final cut if she trains well over the next month but how far can the 2005 3000m steeple chase world champion go now?

As Aikoru said: “There are no miracles in athletics. If you prepare well, you do well.”

Inzikuru finished seventh in heat three of her steeplechase race at the just concluded Olympics Games in London.