Rwanda’s fast-rising marathoner Jean Pierre Mvuyekure has joined the list of runners who have qualified for the 2013 IAAF World Athletics Championships scheduled for August 10-18 in Moscow, Russia.

The cream of athletes from around the world, including the 2012 London Olympics gold medalist Stephen Kiprotich of Uganda, will converge on Moscow in the hope of breaking new records.

Kiprotich stunned the Kenyan challenge to clinch a surprise Olympic gold medal in the men’s marathon in London last year.

Rwanda Athletics Federation secretary-general Johnson Rukundo revealed this week that Mvuyekure beat the qualifying mark set by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) during the IAAF Road Race code-named Mangyongdae Prize Marathon held last week in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Two Rwandans qualified

Mvuyekure clocked two hours, 13 minutes and 19 seconds to finish third in the marathon race, which was won by Ethiopia’s Negassa Ketema Bekele.

His qualification brings the number of Rwandan athletes who have sailed through to two. Also on the list is upcoming long distance runner Robert Kajuga, who assured himself of a place in Moscow 2013 after clocking 27:56.67 in 14th place in the 10,000 metres final at the London Olympics.

“This is a good achievement, that two of our players have qualified for the World Championship. I hope more athletes can borrow a leaf from them,” added Rukundo.

The Moscow worlds will include five events held inside and outside the stadium and they will be open for non-ticket holders, which induces certain security concerns.

The Local Organising Committee ( LOC) executive director, Aleksandr Polinskiy, was quoted recently as saying that safety was the first priority for the organisers of the championship.

“We have a security concept that has been developed over the years,” he said. “Its application for Moscow 2013 has been approved by all the law-enforcement organisations of the city.”