Africa-Press – Rwanda. Middle-distance runner Robert Kajuga says his ban by the Regional Doping Organisation (RDO) is just part of the past and is only focused on winning more medals in the future after impressing at the just-concluded 2022 Kigali International Peace Marathon.
The veteran, who plays for Mountain Club, has been blacklisted from competing at different international athletics competitions since 2016 for failure to take an out-of-competition drugs test.
He, however, put the doping ban behind to return to the podium of the annual marathon event’s half marathon race with a bronze medal he last won over a decade ago.
Kajuga told Times Sport that, with Sunday’s performance, he has got no time to think about the past anymore as he is only eyeing more silverware in coming athletics competitions including the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
“It happened, but I have no time to waste on the past. I am only focused on the future,” said the athlete who normally competes in the 10 000m races.
“I am now going to focus on the Commonwealth Games which requires a lot of energy and resistance although there are other road race competitions that I look forward to participating in,” he added.
Kajuga could have made an immediate return to action by the time he finished his ban service in 2020 but, unfortunately, a series of injuries combined with the covid-19 pandemic which saw sport activities halted for about two years kept him on the sidelines.
“It takes a long time to recover from injuries. I had to take my time to come back to my best and here I made it to the podium because I had good preparations,” he said.
That veteran last won a medal at the Peace Marathon back in 2012 when he won a bronze medal while winning a silver medal in the same race the previous year.
Kajuga returns to the streets at the age of 37 but insists he has no plan to retire any time soon.
“I still have five years ahead of me. I have the energy to run and it is normal for athletes to run even in their 40s,” he noted.
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