Javelin thrower Damacline Nyakeruri is giving a deaf ear to her critics as she gears up for next year’s African Games in Ghana and the World Championships in Budapest among other major events.
Nyakeruri said she hopes to make the cut in all major events lined up for next year and she is currently training hard for the same.
She also narrated how discouragement from people almost ended her career. "I vowed to keep going because of the passion she has for the sport," she said.
“I get discouraged by many people who believe javelin is a reserve for men,” Nyakeruri said, adding that her biggest dream remains representing the country at the Olympics. stage.
She said her target this coming season is to throw 60m and above. Her personal best currently stands at 51.42m.
Nyakeruri disclosed that she started the sport while in Form Two at Igorera Secondary School. She said she had initially started running but could not keep up with the pace. “I decided to take javelin because my progress was impressive,” she added.
She said she started taking her training seriously in 2014 when she started attending the Athletics Kenya meetings.
In 2018, Nyakeruri got a chance to represent the country at the African Senior Athletics Championships in Nigeria, where she placed fourth after throwing 50.94m.
“That was my breakthrough and I knew there was light at the end of the tunnel,” Nyakeruri said. However, when her career was starting to pick up, she got expectant and had to take a sabbatical.
Despite all the ups and downs, Nyakeruri said the likes of the 2015 World javelin Julius Yego and two-world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber of Australia always motivate her to keep going. “Yego is my mentor and that’s enough reason for me not to give up,” she said.
