The Rwandan athletics coach has said his team is ready for the maiden African U-18 Youth Championships which kicked off in Warri, Nigeria from tomorrow.

Head coach Innocent Rwabuhihi told local media The New Times before the team's departure from Kigali:

    "They (athletes) have been doing well in training, and I hope they will be able to reproduce that kind of form in the competition.

    "It is their first time to compete at this level but they look confident of doing a good job. It will be a good experience for them as way of competing at the highest level."

    "I am optimistic about our chances to do well because we have prepared very well, especially the two boys have shown a strong competitiveness spirit in training," he added.

Rwanda's team of four athletes and their trainer left the country on Monday for Warri, and is expected to return on April 1.

The four athletes include two boys; Eric Turikunkiko (1500m) and Théogene Bigirimana (3000m) and two girls; Salomo Nyirarukundo (3000m) and Venantie Mukandayisenga (1500m).

The winners will qualify to compete at the IAAF World Youth Championship, which will be held in Ukraine in June.

David Lekuta Rudisha, the world 800m record-holder and London 2012 Olympic champion, from Kenya has been voted by AthleticsAfrica.Com readers as the 2012 AthleticsAfrica's (ATAF) Athlete of the Year.

Rudisha, 24, garnered 54 percent of the votes cast in our readers poll.

His third career World record time of 1:40.91 set at the London Olympics in a race the Kenyan lead from start to finish was amazing and undoubtedly the performance of 2012. 

David Rudisha's 2012 season also highlights fast times in Melbourne (1:44.33) on March 3; Doha (1:43.10) on May 11; Paris (1:41.54) on June 6; New York (1:41.74) on June 9 and at altitude in Nairobi (1:41.12) on July 21 before finishing with a second place in Zurich (1:42.81) on August 30th.

• Tirunesh DIBABA (ETHIOPIA)
• Meseret DEFAR (ETHIOPIA)
• Oscar PISTORIUS (SOUTH AFRICA)
• Stephen KIPROTICH (UGANDA)
• Taoufik MAKHLOUFI (ALGERIA)
• Tiki GELANA (ETHIOPIA)
• Ezekiel KEMBOI (KENYA)

The year 2013 will mark the 10-year anniversary of AthleticsAfrica.Com and we intend to hold a major award and a bigger competition to honour the best and finest athletes, coaches and officials from the African continent at the Athletics Africa Awards (ATAF Awards 2013)

We would like to thank all those who voted and wish all our readers a Happy New Year and a Prosperous 2013. Do remember to drop a comment whenever you pop onto our website.

Around 95 candidates will contest for various elective posts in Athletics Namibia on Saturday 17th November 2012.

• 2 candidates for the position of President
• 12 candidates for the 4 Vice Presidents positions
• 8 candidates for the position of Secretary General
• 5 candidates for chair of Selection
• 5 candidates for chair of Veterans and Masters
• 5 candidates for chair of Road running
• 6 candidates for chair of Technical
• 6 candidates for chair of Cross Country
• 5 candidates for chair of Coaching
• 6 candidates for chair of Woman Affairs
• 9 candidates for chair of Juniors,
• 3 candidates for chair of Track and Field
• 7 candidates for chair of Development
• 5 candidates for chair of Medical and Doping
• 4 candidates for chair of Finance
• 2 candidates for chair of Officials
• 5 candidates for chair of Disciplinary

Following a summer which saw him compete on the Olympic track eleven times across the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius took part in his first ever US television chat show when he was a guest on the NBC ‘Tonight With Jay Leno’ show.

Fresh off the back of partnering with Ryder Cup hero and vice-captain Paul McGinley at the Dunhill Links golf Championships in Scotland, Oscar appeared alongside US actor Tyler Perry and the music band Plain White T’s as he reflected on a summer which saw him win two Paralympic gold and a Paralympic silver medal, break three world records and make an Olympic final.

The show was broadcast at 23:35 ET on NBC on Tuesday 09 October and is available at the following links below, including to viewers outside of the US.

• Pistorius on NBC 'Tonight with Jay Leno' PART 1
• Pistorius on NBC 'Tonight with Jay Leno' PART 2

Pistorius will be remaining in the US for the rest of the week, where his next appearance will be on the ‘Piers Morgan Tonight’ show on CNN on Friday 12 October, followed by the ‘Larry King Now’ show on HULU.com, to be broadcast at a later date.

Today AthleticsAfrica.Com is Eight !!!

Eight years of putting Africa at the forefront of world track and field discussions.

Eight years of braving the odds, with limited sponsorships, to promote African athletes both at home and in the diaspora.

Eight years of jumping from one meet to the other across Europe and the African continent to bring the best of African athletics to your desktop.

In those eight years, others have joined, new sites and news outlets have come up and together we would continue to push African Athletics content further to reach more audiences.

We could not have done this without your loyal readership, assistance and support, Thank you!

So, as we celebrate our 8th year anniversary, we'd like to crave your indulgence not to forget us and to continue to support us in 2013 and beyond.

Thank you once again as you continue to show your love and support for our work and efforts and together we can do more!

God bless you all.

Yours Sincerely,

Yomi Omogbeja
Editor

Shortly after being named in the South Africa's individual men's 400m and 4x400m relay to the London 2012 Olympic Games, Oscar Pistorius, also called the Blade Runner, released a media statement on his website.

Pistorius said on Wednesday: "Today is truly one of the proudest days of my life. To have been selected to represent Team South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games in the individual 400m and the 4x400m relay is a real honour and I am so pleased that years of hard work, determination and sacrifice have all come together.

"I have run two Olympic 'A' standard times over the past twelve months and with the time I ran at the African Championships last week I know my speed and fitness are constantly improving so that I will peak in time for the Olympics.

"I have a phenomenal team behind me who have helped get me here and I, along with them, will now put everything we can into the final few weeks of preparations before the Olympic Games where I am aiming to race well, work well through the rounds, post good times and maybe even a personal best time on the biggest stage of them all.

"I am also hugely excited to then be competing to defend my three Paralympic titles at the Paralympic Games. I believe will see some amazing times posted and I am very much looking forward to what will be an incredible Olympics and Paralympics in London."

Want to become better acquainted with your favourite Olympians? Tired of not knowing if the athletes you are following online are the real deal? Looking for a unified status-update stream that integrates Facebook and Twitter so you can get the entire conversation and not just part of it? If you said yes to any or all of these questions, then the Olympic Athletes’ Hub is the place for you.

Officially launched online this week to coincide with 100 days to go to London 2012, the Hub is the latest initiative by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to make the Olympic experience more personal and interactive for Olympic fans worldwide by substantially increasing engagement between them and the athletes.

The Hub is a searchable directory of Olympians that provides posts from their Facebook and Twitter accounts and other information designed to connect people with their favourite athletes. Using the Hub’s search function, users can effortlessly locate athletes by country or by sport. Over 1,000 verified Olympians have already joined the Hub, and the number will continue to grow as the countdown to London 2012 continues and word of the Hub spreads.

Fans can unlock secret training tips from Olympic legends, including Nadia Comaneci (gymnastics, ROM), Edwin Moses (athletics, USA), Mark Spitz (swimming, USA), Yelena Isinbayeva (athletics, RUS) and Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean (figure skating, GBR). The more athletes users “like” on Facebook or follow on Twitter through the site, the more points they receive, accumulating prizes such as virtual gold, silver and bronze medals from past Olympic Games in the process. Many other prizes will also be awarded on the road to London 2012.

During the London 2012 Olympic Games, a special section will be created on the Hub where users can view in real time what the athletes competing at the Games are saying on social media sites. In addition, for the first time ever at the Olympic Games, chats with athletes will take place from within the Athletes’ Village, connecting fans and Olympians in real time.

“The Olympic Athletes’ Hub was born out of our desire to connect Olympic athletes and their fans more intimately than ever before,” said Alex Huot, Head of Social Media for the IOC. “With the launch of the Hub, we are creating a paradigm shift in the communication around the Olympic Games, and we are excited to offer this opportunity for greater engagement and interaction between Olympians and their fans.”

DOHA DEFENDERS FOR ISTANBUL BRATISLAVA (SVK):

The list of athletes who want to defend their World Indoor titles from Doha also in Istanbul is over 50 percent level. On the men side Dwain Chambers at 60 m, Abubaker Kaki at 800m, Derese Mekonnen in the 1500m, Bernard Lagat at 3000m, Dayron Robles (60m Hurdles), Ivan Ukhov in high jump, Fabrice Lapierre in long jump, Christian Cantwell in shot put are ready to go.

In some cases they still need to undergo home qualification (in some cases very tough) process. Bryan Clay (heptathlon) must still decide if he wants to try to achieve a top mark during the indoor season but most probably not. Steven Hooker in pole vault will start end of January in Australia and will see later.

Not clear is the situation of Chris Brown at 400m who recently changed agents and for sure not in Istanbul will be triple jump title defender Teddy Tamgho who is banned by French Athletics Federation and due to his injury did not plan for indoors in any case.

On the women side confirmed as non Istanbul are Debbie Dunn at 400m (Her rehab from her stress fracture this summer prevented her of coming back to soon. Training at the moment is going well, but Indoors will not fit in her road to London 2012), Mariya Savinova at 800m, Fabiana Murer in pole vault and Olga Rypakova in the triple jump.

Later decisions are expected from Veronica Campbell-Brown at 60m and Nadezhda Ostapchuk in shot put. Confirmed interest for Istanbul is known from Kalkidan Gezahegn (1500m), Meseret Defar (3000m), Lolo Jones (60m hurdles), Blanka Vlasic (high jump), Brittney Reese (long jump) and Jessica Ennis (pentathlon).

DAEGU WINNERS FOR ISTANBUL BRATISLAVA (SVK):

Another group to follow for the coming indoor season are the Daegu winners. In relevent events confirmed interest for indoors and Istanbul is from Jesse Williams in high jump, David Storl in shot put, Brittney Reese in long jump and Valerie Adams in shot put. Solid possibility is existing from those who will do some competitions and might decide during the indoor season whether to go to Turkey.

They are Mo Farah, Jason Richardson, Veronica Campbell-Brown and Jenny Simpson. Also Tatyana Chernova wants to see how her high jump will got and decide later about her Istanbul pentathlon invitation Another group decided to do some indoor competitions but no Istanbul. In this group Kirani James, Pawel Wojciechowski, Trey Hardee (final decision in January), Mariya Savinova, Anna Chicherova, Fabiana Murer and Olga Saladukha.

No for the indoor season comes from Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt, David Rudisha, Asbel Kiprop, Dwight Phillips, Carmelita Jeter, Amantle Montsho and Vivian Cheruiyot. Undecided in this case Christian Taylor (decision early February, he is taking the semester of the school to focus on Olympics) and Sally Pearson (also connected to her recent injury).