Former harrier Nukuri trains for second Olympics
Nearly 1 million sets of eyes were on Diane Nukuri-Johnson.
Yet, she tried to focus her own on the track in front of her. She was brought to Sydney to do a job — to represent Burundi in the 5,000-meter run.
Without realizing it, at 16, the 5-9, 119-pound African girl was about to make history for her impoverished, war-torn nation.
As the only female donning the red-and-green Burundi uniform on the world’s ultimate stage — the 2000 Olympic Games — she nervously took her place in line.
Too young to fully comprehend the situation, all she knew was she had to run — and fast.
The shot fired, and she took off.
Running, for Nukuri-Johnson, is instinctive.
As civil war ravaged Burundi in the 1990s, she lost her father to the violence when she was 9. She diverted her attention to the one thing that freed her — running.
Now, with the war over and Sydney behind her, she is preparing for her second Olympic appearance — the 2012 London Games. Her training venue has shifted from Africa to Iowa City, and the 25-year-old — who married former Daily Iowan staffer Alex Johnson in the summer of 2009 — now has much higher expectations for herself as an athlete.
“In Sydney, I was just very young and didn’t really know much about the Olympics until I got there,” Nukuri-Johnson said. “I didn’t expect to medal or anything — it was really just more of an experience.”
And since 2000, Nukuri-Johnson’s life has been defined by good, bad, and uncommon experiences.
Just one year after her first Olympic stint, she witnessed an incident that still sends chills down her spine. On her way home from a track meet in Burundi, the 17-year-old watched an Army officer get shot in front of her.
“All I kept thinking was that could have been me,” Nukuri-Johnson said. “I knew it wasn’t safe there anymore, and I wanted to build a life and find a good place to train. I knew running could be my way out.”
So she chose to run.
Iowa’s head track and field coach Layne Anderson formed an instant bond with Nukuri-Johnson and assisted in bringing her to Iowa, where she competed through 2008.
Two years later, Nukuri-Johnson is still in Iowa City, training under Anderson’s guidance.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for her as a person,” Anderson said. “She’s earned everything she’s ever gotten, and she’s never felt sorry for herself.”
And he is confident her dedication will earn her a spot in the marathon at 2012 London Games — even though she has never run the 26.2-mile distance.
As preparation, Nukuri-Johnson registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon, where she hopes to get a low enough time to once again sport red and green in the Olympics.
“I chose to run for Burundi because I want to inspire young girls there,” Nukuri-Johnson said. “Running isn’t really popular there, and women don’t really play sports. Hopefully, young girls will see that you can run, and you can go to college.”
While perhaps her message hasn’t resonated in Africa yet, members of the Iowa team said they consider Nukuri-Johnson an inspiration.
Senior Fionna Fallon said Nukuri-Johnson’s presence at practice is uplifting.
“She’s an amazing person on and off the field,” Fallon said. “She leads by example. We were brought up in our own world, and sometimes we may forget how much harder someone had to work to get to where they are.”
Fallon has witnessed Nukuri-Johnson’s daily dedication, and she is confident that the extensive training will help the former Hawkeye reach her “ultimate goal.”
“There are people who always doubt you, and people back home just don’t understand,” Nukuri-Johnson said. “Now, I just want to prove to them that they can do it, too. I did everything else I ever wanted to do, and the London Games are my next step.”
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