DOHA, Sept 28 (NNN-QNA) – Refugee team athlete, Rose Nathike Lokonyen, did not move beyond the women’s 800m heat, at the Doha World Championships, but sport has moved her life towards a brighter future.
The 26-year-old South Sudanese, finished last in heat 2 but clocked a personal best of two minutes 13.39 seconds, on Friday, the opening day of the biennial athletics extravaganza.
“I will have to improve more with the time, so I’m going to try the best I can,” she said.
“Sometimes due to the school schedule and travelling, I didn’t have enough time for training, so I hope next time I am going to do my best,” she added.
Nathike is now famous for being a member of the athletes refugee team, which made its debut at the 2016 Olympic Games, where Nathike was the flag-bearer of the team at the opening ceremony.
When she was eight, she fled war with her family and found shelter at the remote Kakuma refugee camp, in northern Kenya. She lived there for many years and started running as a hobby, which later changed her life.
“Now I am studying business management at college in Nairobi,” said the second year student.
After the Olympic Games, Nathike was granted a scholarship to study at college, while she also keeps competing, representing the refugee team.
Now she has thrown the misery of her early life far behind her and lives a busy and happy life.
“In 2017 I went to the London world championships, and this year I went for a relay race in Japan,” she said.
In May this year, she and her 2016 Olympic teammate, James Chiengjiek, competed in the newly created mixed 2x2x400m relay, at the World Relay Championships in Yokohama.
When she goes back to Kenya, she will start her preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Nathike said, sport fills her life with hope.
“What I can tell my sister and my brother is that, in life, you can never give up. Don’t lose hope,” she said.
“For me, sport means a lot. At least it has made me known and also inspire other refugees. It has given me at least a chance to avoid being a refugee. You are not just being a refugee, it is just a name,” she said.
A total of six refugee athletes compete in Doha and Nathike is the only female athlete.– NNN-QNA