Rodrigue Kwizera

Rodrigue Kwizera
Personal information
NationalityBurundian
Born (1999-10-10) 10 October 1999 (age 27)
Sport
CountryBurundi (until 2023)
Spain (since 2026)
SportAthletics
Events
Long-distance running, Cross country

Rodrigue Kwizera (born 10 October 1999) is a Burundian-born Spanish long-distance runner.

Personal life

Kwizera moved to Spain in 2019 and, in 2025, requested Spanish nationality. He stopped representing Burundi in 2023, to comply with the 3-years rule without representing another country in order to be able to compete for a new one. In May 2026, the Council of Ministers granted him the Spanish nationality.

Career

In 2017, Rodrigue Kwizera competed in the senior men's race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda. He placed 39th.

He competed in the senior men's race at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships held in Aarhus, Denmark, and finished in 11th place. That year, he also represented Burundi at the 2019 African Games staged in Rabat, Morocco. He competed in the men's 5000 metres and placed 16th. Kwizera finished 16th in the men's 10,000 metres at the 2019 World Athletics Championships held in Doha.

He won the 2021–22 World Cross Country Tour. He placed 16th in the 10,000 m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

In April 2025, He won the Prague Half Marathon in a Burundi National record time of 58:54. In October 2025, he beat this time at the Valencia Half Marathon crossing the line in 58:39, finishing in second place to Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha.

In March 2026, he retained his title at the 2026 Prague Half Marathon with a course record of 58:16, improving on the previous best set by Sabastian Sawe in 2024.

In October 2026, he won the 2026 Valencia Half Marathon with a time of 58:03.

Achievements

Circuit wins and titles

Personal bests

Road

References

  1. 1 2 "Rodrigue KWIZERA – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes (1 May 2026). "Real Decreto 364/2026, de 29 de abril, por el que se concede la nacionalidad española por carta de naturaleza a don Rodrigue Kwizera". Official State Gazette. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  3. ↑ Ossa, Juan Francisco de la (2026-03-31). "Los dos récords perdidos por no ser (todavía) español". El Periódico Mediterráneo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  4. ↑ "Senior men's race" (PDF). 2017 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Senior men's race" (PDF). 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "2019 African Games – Athletics – Results Book" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Men's 5,000 metres". 2019 African Games Results. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  8. ↑ "Men's 10,000 metres - Final" (PDF). 2019 World Athletics Championships. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 December 2019. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. ↑ Sampaolo, Diego (6 January 2023). "Daniel and Kwizera triumph at Campaccio". World Athletics. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  10. ↑ "Generali Prague Half Marathon 2025". Runczech. 5 April 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  11. ↑ "Ranking 21K 2025". valenciaciudaddelrunning.com. 25 October 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  12. ↑ "RODRIGUE KWIZERA BREAKS PRAGUE HALF COURSE RECORD". Athletics Weekly. 28 March 2026. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  13. ↑ "Chepkirui and Kwizera clinch fast half marathon wins in Valencia". World Athletics. 25 October 2026. Retrieved 26 October 2026.