Athletics: Leni focuses on relays

By Norman Katende

Commonwealth Games
Women 400m semi-final

Heat 3

1 Noviee Williams-Mills (JAM) 50.73
2 Amante Montsho (BOT) 50.96
7 Leni Shida (UGA) 54.30

GLASGOW - Shida Leni has changed her focus on the relays after failing to make it to the 400m women final at the Commonwealth Games.

But the games are being marred with technical hitches due to the mix-up in entries, which has seen some athletes entered in wrong events while others are not on the start list.

Leni, the only Ugandan female runner to qualify for the women 400m semi-finals had an opportunity to race against world champion Amante Montsho of Botswana, who is favourite for gold and Jamaican Noviene Williams-Mills, though it could only burn her out, coming home in seventh position with a time of 54.30 seconds.true

But she was more confident that the experience got will now be turned to Uganda’s focus on reaching the final in the longer 4 X 400m relays.

“I got the required experience. We are now focused and we want to make no mistakes. We are eyeing the final,” she said after training Tuesday morning.

She will be running the relay together with Halimah Nakayi, Winnie Nanyondo and Emily Nanziri.

However, there has been a mix up in the events with Dennis Opio being left out of the 400m, Nakayi being entered in the 800m instead of the 400m she has been training for while Emily Chebet was only confirmed late for women 10000m.

“The list we sent in the last meeting had all the details. We do not know what would have happened in between,” said athletics team manager Apollo Musherure.