After seven months of inaction, Sammy Nyokaye is seeking to win the Rock City Half Marathon in Mwanza, Tanzania on November 29, 2020.
The former Mully Half Marathon champion was scheduled to compete in Manchester and Ottawa marathons but the races were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I am hopeful of a good performance at the Rock City Half Marathon because I have been training well despite not knowing when I will compete next,” Nyokaye said. A podium finish in Mwanza will also come with a financial windfall that the former pacesetter so desperately needs.
In 2015, Nyokaye came second in Rock City Half Marathon after narrowly missing out on a podium finish in 2014 when he finished fourth.
“Athletics is my only source of livelihood and not competing for the last seven months has been really hard on me financially. The race in Mwanza has been good for me and winning will be a bonus for me,” he said.
Nyokaye shot into the limelight after clinching the Mully Half Marathon title in 2017. During the same year, he finished fourth in the Samuel Wanjiru 10km Discovery race and fifth in Madoka Half Marathon.
Before he delved into competitive athletics, Nyokaye had been pacing a number of marathons most notably in Barcelona in 2017, where he clocked 2:14.50.
