Diane Nukuri

Diane Nukuri (born 1 December 1984, in Kigozi-Mukike) is a Burundian-American[1] professional distance runner. She competed for Burundi as a fifteen-year-old in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney in the 5,000m and in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the marathon. Nukuri ran for the University of Iowa in college. She was the Burundian flag bearer at the Summer Olympics in 2000 and 2012.

Diane Nukuri
Diane Nukuri at the 2012 Olympics "Burundi Day"
Personal information
Born (1984-12-01) 1 December 1984
Kigozi, Burundi
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Country Burundi
 United States
College teamButler CC
Iowa
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals2000
5000 m, 45th (h)
2012
Marathon, 31st
2016
10,000 m, 13th
Personal best(s)

Early life

Nukuri began running in her early teens, starting little more than a year prior to her first Olympic experience (the 2000 Olympics in Sydney). She ran in the junior IAAF World Cross Country Championships twice, placing 18th in 2000 and 27th the following year.[2] She won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2001 Francophone Games in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[3] After the games, Nukuri fled to Toronto, seeking asylum from the Burundi civil war. At the time, Nukuri had already lost her father to the conflict, and she knew she would have no running career had she stayed in Burundi. She was granted asylum, and lived with relatives in Pickering, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.

The University of Iowa and Butler CCC

Nukuri continued to run while living in Canada and began drawing interest from cross country and distance track coaches from American universities, in particular the University of Iowa. However, Nukuri spoke very little English, so she attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. At Butler, Nukuri trained under Kirk Hunter while learning English (her third language), taking classes, and amassing 9 NJCAA national championships and 17 NJCAA All-American honors. After two seasons at Butler, Nukuri transferred to the University of Iowa to work with coach Layne Anderson, who recruited Diane directly out of high school. Anderson was largely responsible for Nukuri attending Butler.

In her time at Iowa, Nukuri won two Big Ten Championships, in cross-country (2007) and the 5,000 meters in outdoor track (2008). She was named an All-American three times and won the Wilma Rudolph student-athlete award. She left Iowa with school records in ten events.

In her final collegiate race (the NCAA Championships, 10,000 meters), a major side stitch forced Nukuri into an early exit with only a few laps remaining while in second place. She graduated from Iowa with a bachelor's degree in communications in the fall of 2008.

Professional career

Diane Nukuri-Johnson in the Marathon at the 2012 Olympics in London

She competed in her first professional race at the 2008 Shelter Island 10K. Major race performances are below.

Nukuri first competed in the Olympics at the age of 15, running the 5,000 meters at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She finished 14th in her heat but did not advance to the finals. She returned to the Olympics twelve years later, competing in the women's marathon. She finished in 31st place, setting another Burundian National Record (she owned the previous mark in the marathon) in 2:30:13,.[4] 118 runners started the race, and 107 finished. Nukuri was also the flag-bearer for Burundi, leading the country's six athletes at the opening ceremony.[5] Nukuri also carried the flag in Sydney.

She bettered her national record at the NYC Half Marathon in March 2013, narrowly finishing second to Caroline Rotich in a time of 1:09:12 hours.[6]

Nukuri is currently the Burundian record-holder in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, half marathon, and the marathon. She continues training under Coach Anderson.

Her story has been documented in a number of articles, including Running Times in October 2012.

Diane Nukuri represented Burundi once again at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016, running the 10,000 meters.

She became a U.S. citizen in 2017. She holds dual citizenship from both Burundi and the United States.[7] She became eligible to compete internationally for the United States in February 2020.[8]

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
1999 All-Africa Games Johannesburg, South Africa 10th 5000 m 17:04.75
2000 World Cross Country Championships Vilamoura, Portugal 18th Junior race 21:42
Olympic Games Sydney, Australia 14th (h) 5000 m 16:38.30
2001 World Cross Country Championships Ostend, Belgium 27th Junior race 23:37
Francophonie Games Ottawa, Canada 3rd 10,000 m 34:30.66
2012 Olympic Games London, United Kingdom 31st Marathon 2:30:13 NR
2013 Francophonie Games Nice, France 1st 10,000 m 32:29.14
2016 Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 13th 10,000 m 31:28.69 NR

Circuit results

Marathons

YearRaceTimePlace
2017New York City Marathon2:31:219th
2017Boston Marathon2:32:249th
2014Montreal Marathon1:13:071st
2013New York City Marathon2:30:0910th
2013Boston Marathon2:29:548th
2011New York City Marathon2:41:2120th
2011Los Angeles Marathon2:33:47 NR4th
2010Chicago Marathon2:39:0923rd

Other distances

YearRaceTimePlace
2018Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon1:15:2015th
2018Lilac Bloomsday Run 12 km41:3211th
2018Cherry Blossom 10 Miler53:565th
2017Beach to Beacon 10 km32:105th
2017Steamboat Classic 4 Mile20:491st
2017New York Half Marathon1:09:133rd
2017Houston Half Marathon1:11:4210th
2016Steamboat Classic 4 Mile20:291st
2016New York Mini 10K32:183rd
2016Great Manchester Run 10K31:493rd
2016UAE Healthy Kidney 10K32:234th
2016Payton Jordan Invitational 10,000m31:57.9916th
2016Boston Athletic Association 5K15:434th
2016Carlsbad 500015:344th
2016New York City Half Marathon1:09:413rd
2016World's Best 10K32:459th
2016Marugame Half Marathon1:09:232nd
2016Rock 'n' Roll Arizona 10K32:111st
2015Falmouth Road Race36:471st
2014Bay to Breakers 12K40:151st
2013Bay to Breakers 12K40:121st
2013New York City Half Marathon1:09:122nd
2012Alliant Energy 8K25:501st
2012Steamboat Classic 4 Mile20:282nd
2012New York Mini 10K32:384th
2012Dam tot Damloop 20K1:07:52 CR1st
2012Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K40:015th
2012Payton Jordan Invitational 10,000m32:45.9620th
2012BAA 5K15:415th
2012Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K26:113rd
2012New York City Half Marathon1:10:55 NR11th
2011Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon1:12:086th
2011Falmouth Road Race 7 Mile37:132nd
2011Beach to Beacon 10K32:36.7 NR4th
2011Bix 737:593rd
2011Fifth Season 8K, Cedar Rapids26:07 NR1st
2011Steamboat Classic 4 Mile20:41 NR1st
2011New York Mini 10K33:2812th
2011Freihofer's Run for Women 5K15:57 NR6th
2011Marion Arts Festival 5K16:071st
2010Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon74:2012th
2010Steamboat Classic 4 Mile21:267th
2010Drake Relays 8K27:101st
2010Carlsbad 500016:237th
2010Meyo Indoor Meet 3000m9:22.485th
2010New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon1:14:256th
2009Manchester Road Race 4.75 Miles26:057th
2009Fifth Season 8K, Cedar Rapids26:422nd
2008Manchester Road Race 4.75 Miles25:173rd
2008Outdoor Big 10 Championships 5000m16:24.211st
2008NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships 5000 m16:35.0512th
2007NCAA Cross Country Championships20:074th
2007Big 10 Championships Cross Country 6K19:371st
2007NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships 10,000m33:30.297th

[9]

See also

References

  1. "Diane Nukuri's Long Run to Freedom". 10 November 2017.
  2. Nukuri Diane. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  3. Francophone Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  4. Diane Nukuri. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  5. Diane Nukuri Archived 2012-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. London2012. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  6. Battaglia, Joe (2013-03-17). Wilson Kipsang gives high octane performance at chilly NYC Half. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  7. "Mile posts: Weekend Update ... With Diane Nukuri, Abbabiya Simbassa, Stanley Kebenei, Rebecca Naughton". The Des Moines Register.
  8. Transfers of allegiance - Decisions of the World Athletics Nationality Review Panel in 2020 (as of 8 May 2020). World Athletics (2020-05-08). Retrieved 2020-05-30.
  9. . Boulder Wave. Retrieved on 2012-10-04.
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