Margaret Nyairera is one of Kenya’s hailed Rio Olympics athletes. Upon her arrival on home soil, the 800-meter bronze medalist was received by a happy mother. However, she is yet to achieve her goal, with her eyes focused solely on winning first place.
The Kenyan is hopeful she will defeat, South African gold medalist, Caster Semenya. In their race, she finished behind the South African and Burundi’s Francine Niyonsaba who took silver at the Olympics.
Nyairera is in pursuit of next year’s IAAF World Athletics Championships senior title in London. This time, the 21-year-old will not settle for bronze. She is certain of taking a shot at Semenya with hopes of eventually triumphing over the South African.
The Kenyan who was motivated by Vivian Cheruiyot’s admirable 5000m win said, “If you look at Vivian she believed in herself and took on Ayana head-on in the 5000 meter and beat her. So even for me, I believe I can beat Semenya. She is beatable. Everybody is.”
The Rio Olympics were Nyairera’s first games and the former volleyball player impressed for a first-time participant. She stormed into the final and won bronze in a race that Kenya is yet to dominate.
On Sept. 9, Nyairera plans to race in the final leg of the IAAF Diamond League in Brussels, Belgium where she hopes she can deliver an emphatic finish.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]”I thank God I made it to the Olympics and managed to win a bronze medal. It was a great experience running alongside athletes who have been there for years, and I believe I came out of Rio a better athlete,”[/perfectpullquote]
Nyairera said upon arrival at the Kenya Airways exit lounge.
The 2014 World Junior Champion has set plans to make her mark by adjusting her training schedule early enough, a factor she attributes to good shape and performance in time for next year’s world title, after a slow start to her Olympic medal win.
Featured Photo: Bronze medalist Nyairera Wambui of Kenya (right) poses with gold medalist Caster Semenya of South Africa (center) and silver medalist Francine Niyonsaba (left) of Burundi on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Women’s 800 meters at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
