Paralympian Hermas Cliff Muvunyi has announced that he will retire after competing at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
The 32-year-old is the most decorated Paralympic player in Rwanda with 15 medals to his name so far, including nine gold medals.
Some of his remarkable achievements include a gold medal he won in the T46 men’s 400 category at the 2011 Maputo All-Africa Games and the 2015 Brazzaville All-Africa Games.
He also won a gold medal at the 2013 Jeux de la Francophonie and struck bronze at the Marrakech Meeting Competition, after clocking 51 seconds and three microseconds in the T46 men’s 400m category.
Muvunyi represented Rwanda at the Paralympic games three times, including London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
He, however, failed to make it to the podium at any of the three editions.
His latest performance was in Tokyo where he finished eighth in the 1500m race, after clocking four minutes and sixteen seconds (4:00:16).
After three failed attempts to win a medal at the Paralympics, Muvunyi told Times Sport that the Paris 2024 will be his last competition before announcing his retirement.
“I think this is the last one for me for sure – I’ve done enough. And I’ve proven myself over and over again and I believe it’s the right time to pass the mantle to the young generation,” he said
“I’m going to try it for the last time and it would be great if I could get a medal. It’s going to be a difficult process but I need first to get a ticket to Paris 2024,” The veteran runner, who is resuming training sessions this week said.
Muvunyi’s career
Born in Kamonyi, Southern Province, Muvunyi made his debut in Paralympic competitions in 2011 where he took part in the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo. He eventually won two medals including gold in the 400 meters and silver in 800m, a performance that earned him a qualification to the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
He made history after becoming the first Rwandan ever to win gold in the 800m T-46 at the International Paralympic Committee-Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France in 2013 before winning another gold medal in the 400m race at the All Africa Games in Congo-Brazzaville in 2015.
The athlete added two more gold medals to his CV winning both the 400 and 800 metres at the 9th IPC Grand Prix de Tunis in March 2016. His last gold medal came in the 1500-metre T-46 during the Berlin Open Grand Prix July in Germany.