Halimah Nakaayi
Halimah Nakaayi (born 16 October 1994) is a Ugandan middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She is the 2019 World Champion at the event, and won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Nakaayi is the current Ugandan record holder in the 800m both outdoors and indoors, and also for the 1000 metres. She competed in the 800 metres at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, reaching the semi-finals each time. Career. 2011–2017. At 16, Halimah Nakaayi won the 400 metres at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games held  in Douglas, Isle of Man. In 2012, she ran the second 10 km leg of a marathon relay at a festival celebrating 50 years of Ugandan independence, and after having advanced from fifth to second, spent four hours in a coma. Nakaayi was the flag bearer for Uganda in the closing ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympics. The next year, she came second in her specialist 800 metres distance at the Islamic Solidarity Games in a time of 2:01.60. At the 2017 World Championships, Nakaayi was eliminated from the event in the semifinals, clocking 2:01.74. 2018–2021. In 2018, she placed  fourth at the African Championships with a time of 1:58.90. She lost to, 1–3, Caster Semenya, Francine Niyonsaba, and Habitam Alemu by only 0.04 seconds. In August 2019, Nakaayi won the bronze medal at the African Games behind Hirut Meshesha and Rababe Arafi. The next month, she became the World champion in Doha improving her own Ugandan record to 1m 58.04s. She held off Raevyn Rogers who made a late surge to claim silver in 1:58.18, while Ajeé Wilson finished third in 1:58.84. Nakaayi was joined in the final by compatriot Winnie Nanyondo in fourth. After suffering a knee  problem she reached only the semifinals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with her time of 2:04.44 (2:00.92 in the heats). 2022–present. Nakaayi competed in four 800m events of the World Indoor Tour, and improved her Ugandan indoor record three times. Racing in Karlsruhe, Val-de-Reuil, Liévin, and Toruń, she finished in positions 1–1–2–2 respectively, with bests of 1:58.58 (Liévin, lost by 0.12s to Natoya Goule) and 1:59.55 set in France. She placed second in Toruń in a triple blanket finish with her time of 2:00.19 equalled by Ethiopia's 19-year-old Tigist Girma, and both behind  Catriona Bisset who was 0.03 seconds quicker (photo finish). In March, Nakaayi won the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships held in Belgrade in a time of 2:00.66, behind Wilson (1:59.09) and Ethiopia's Freweyni Hailu (2:00.54), who overtook Nakaayi just before the finish line. She won comfortably, however, with both Goule (4th) and Bisset (5th). International competitions. Disqualified in the final