Ugandan track queen steps up training for Olympic torch relay

KAMPALA, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Ugandan track queen Dorcus Inzikuru has stepped up her road running training as she prepares to carry the Olympic torch in Dar es Salaam on April 13.

The Commonwealth steeplechase champion is expected to leave for Dar es Salaam on April 12 and will carry the torch over two kilometers through the streets of the Tanzanian capital city.

Inzikuru has just resumed training last month with hope of making the Ugandan team to the Olympics due August 8-24 in Beijing, China after giving birth in December.

"I am happy and very fit to carry the torch. I am preparing forthe Olympics as well," Inzikuru was quoted by New Vision on Monday as saying.

The Arua gazelle joins five other distinguished personalities announced by the Coca-Cola East and Central Africa business to carry the Olympic flame as it makes its debut in East Africa.

She will participate in the event with Noble Peace Prize winner Professor Wangari Mathai, first African woman and UN Undersecretary General Dr. Anna Tibaijuka.

The others are Kenyan ex-Olympian Dr. Kipchoge Keino, Congolese award winning environmentalist Pierre Kakule and Nathan Kalumba, the president of Coca-Cola East and Central Africa.

Dar es Salaam is one of 22 cities around the world chosen to host the torch relay, which is designed to be a journey of harmony taking the message of peace to the world. The torch is scheduled to arrive in Tanzania on April 13 from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

This will be the first time the torch visits East Africa since the inception of the modern relay in 1936. It is also the second time it comes to Africa after its continental debut during the 2004 Athens with trips to Cape Town and Cairo.