Diane Nukuri

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Diane Nukuri-Johnson
File:Diane Nukuri-Johnson at the 2012 Olympics, Burundi Day.jpg
Diane Nukuri-Johnson at the 2012 Olympics "Burundi Day"
Personal information
Born (1984-12-01) 1 December 1984 (age 39)
Kigozi, Burundi
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Weight 59 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Country  Burundi
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals 2012, marathon, 31st
Personal best(s) 5000 m: 15:59.39

Diane Nukuri-Johnson (born December 1, 1984 in Kigozi-Mukike) is a Burundian 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-Johnson ran for The University of Iowa in college.

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.[1] She won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2001 Francophone Games in Ottawa, Canada.[2] 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-Johnson 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-Johnson spoke very little English, so she attended Butler County Community College in El Dorado, Kansas. At Butler, Nukuri-Johnson 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-Johnson transferred to The University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa to work with coach Layne Anderson, who recruited Diane directly out of high school. Anderson was largely responsible for Nukuri-Johnson 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-Johnson 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. She met her husband while studying at the university, marrying approximately two years later.

Professional career

File:Diane Nukuri - 2012 Olympic Womens Marathon.jpg
Diane 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-Johnson 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,.[3] 118 runners started the race, and 107 finished. Nukuri-Johnson was also the flag-bearer for Burundi, leading the country's six athletes at the opening ceremony.[4] Nukuri-Johnson 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.[5]

Nukuri-Johnson 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 in Iowa City with Coach Anderson.

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

Major results

Year Race Time Place
2015 Falmouth Road Race 36:47 1st
2014 San Francisco Bay to Breakers 12K 40:15 1st
2013 San Francisco Bay to Breakers 12K 40:12 1st
2013 ING New York City Marathon 2:30:09 10th
2013 Boston Marathon 2:29:54 8th
2013 New York City Half-Marathon 1:09:12 2nd
2012 London Olympic Marathon 2:30:13 31st
2012 Alliant Energy 8K 25:50 1st
2012 Steamboat Classic 4 Mile 20:28 2nd
2012 New York Mini 10K 32:38 4th
2012 Dam to Dam 20K 1:07:52 CR 1st
2012 Lilac Bloomsday Run 12K 40:01 5th
2012 Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational 10,000m 32:45.96 20th
2012 BAA 5K 15:41 5th
2012 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K 26:11 3rd
2012 New York City Half-Marathon 1:10:55 NR 11th
2011 ING New York City Marathon 2:41:21 20th
2011 Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half-Marathon 1:12:08 6th
2011 New Balance Falmouth Road Race 7 Mile 37:13 2nd
2011 TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K 32:36.7 NR 4th
2011 Bix 7 37:59 3rd
2011 5th Season, 8K Cedar Rapids 26:07 NR 1st
2011 Steamboat Classic 4 Mile 20:41 NR 1st
2011 NYRR New York Mini 10K 33:28 12th
2011 Freihofer's Run for Women 5K 15:57 NR 6th
2011 Marion Arts Festival 5K 16:07 1st
2011 Honda Los Angeles Marathon 2:33:47 NR 4th
2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2:39:09 Debut 23rd
2010 Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon 74:20 12th
2010 Steamboat Classic 4 Mile 21:26 7th
2010 Drake Relays 8K 27:10 1st
2010 Carlsbad 5000 16:23 7th
2010 Meyo Indoor Meet 3000m 9:22.48 5th
2010 New Orleans Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon 1:14:25 6th
2009 Manchester Road Race 4.75 Miles 26:05 7th
2009 5th Season 8K, Cedar Rapids 26:42 2nd
2008 Manchester Road Race 4.75 Miles 25:17 3rd
2008 Outdoor Big 10 Championships 5000m 16:24.21 1st
2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships 20:07 4th
2007 Big 10 Championships Cross Country 6K 19:37 1st
2001 IAAF World Junior Cross Country Championships 23:37 27th
2000 Sydney Olympic Games 5000m 16:38.30 45th
2000 World Junior Cross Country Championships 21:42 18th

[6] [7]

References

  1. ↑ Nukuri Diane. IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  2. ↑ Francophone Games. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  3. ↑ Diane Nukuri. Sports Reference. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  4. ↑ Diane Nukuri. London2012. Retrieved on 2012-07-29.
  5. ↑ Battaglia, Joe (2013-03-17). Wilson Kipsang gives high octane performance at chilly NYC Half. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-03-23.
  6. ↑ [1]. Boulder Wave. Retrieved on 2012-10-04.
  7. ↑ Athletics at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's 5000 metres

External links

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