Marthe Yankurije (born 5 July 1994) is a Rwandan

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

. In 2018, she won her country's 10,000 metres and

Cross-Country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

Championships. She also won the half marathon race at the 2021 Kigali International Peace Marathon, and competed in the

5,000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stand ...

event at the delayed

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Career

Yankurije competes for the APR Athletics Club; prior to 2016, she competed at Nyamasheke Athletics Club. She started athletics at the age of 11. She debuted at the 2014 Kigali half marathon, finishing fifth, and later in the year, she competed at the

2014 African Cross Country Championships The 2014 African Cross Country Championships was the third edition of the international cross country running competition for African athletes organised by the Confederation of African Athletics. It was held on 16 March at the Kololo Golf Course in ...

, finishing 35th. She came fourth in the half marathon event at the 2017

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...

International Peace Marathon and won the event in

Bugesera Bugesera is a district (''akarere'') in Eastern Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Nyamata. The district is the location of two memorial sites of the Rwandan genocide at Ntarama and Nyamata. Geography Bugesera comprises areas south of Kigali, ...

. Yankurije won the 10,000 metres event at the 2018 Rwandan National Championships. In the same year, she won the Rwandan national

Championships, and came third in the half marathon event at the 2018 Kigali International Peace Marathon, and the Dar Marathon in Tanzania. In 2019, she came second in that year's Kigali International Peace Marathon half marathon race, and won the event in Bugesera again. In the same year, she competed in the

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

event at the

2019 African Games The 12th African Games was held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. This was the first time that the African Games were hosted by Morocco following the country's readmission to the African Union in January 2017. Bidding process The 12th ...

; she was one of only two Rwandan athletes at the Games. In 2020, she won the Huye Half Marathon in a time of 1:15:15. She also finished third in a virtual Trier race. In May 2021, she competed in the Zambian Track and Field Championships in Lusaka, a qualification event for the

. In June, she won the Kigali International Peace Marathon half marathon race. As a result, she was given the Rwandan wildcard place to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She competed in the

event; she finished 17th in her heat, and did not progress.

Personal life

Yankurije was born in July 1994. She is from

Nyamasheke District Nyamasheke is a district (''akarere'') in Western Province, Rwanda. Its capital is Nyamasheke town (Kagano). Sectors Nyamasheke district is divided into 15 sectors (''imirenge''): Ruharambuga, Bushekeri, Bushenge, Cyato, Gihombo, Kagano, Kanjongo ...

, Rwanda. At school, she played association football and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

. She left school early, during her fourth year of

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in 2012.

References

External links

*
Olympics.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yankurije, Marthe 1994 births Living people Rwandan female long-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 2019 African Games People from Western Province, Rwanda Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Rwanda