Tanzania Olympic Committee fund training camp for Rio 2016 distance running hopes

Tanzania will be hoping the scholarship will enable them to improve upon their performances at the London 2012 Olympic Games ©AFP/Getty Images

Three promising distance runners have received scholarships to train at the Kip Kieno High Altitude training centre in Eldoret courtesy of the Tanzania Olympic Committee's (TOC) Olympic Solidarity funding in the hope it will help them qualify for next year's Games in Rio.

Leading the selection is 2005 World Half Marathon champion Fabiano Joseph, who will join Glasgow 2014 Fabian Sulle and Bazil John, who finished 14th and eighth in their respective 5,000 and 1500 metres at last year's Commonwealth Games.

The selected trio were announced by the TOC in conjunction with officials from Athletics Tanzania at a special ceremony in Dar Es Salaam.

"Five of our athletes applied for the scholarship and luckily three of them secured the slots," said TOC secretary general Filbert Bayi when announcing the scholarships.

"But unfortunately two of them Alphonce Felix and Dickson Marwa failed to secure the scholarship due to various reasons, but they can still benefit from other Olympic Solidarity programmes,"

The selected trio, who have each signed a contract pledging to abide to the centres' regulations and participate fully in their training programmes, were due to began their trips on May 1.

But Bayi revealed that, but due to "unavoidable circumstances", they will travel there this week instead.

Current secretary general Filbert Bayi won one of two all-time Tanzanian Olympic medals, a 3000m steeplechase silver at Moscow 1980 ©Getty Images — Current secretary general Filbert Bayi won one of two all-time Tanzanian Olympic medals, a 3,000m steeplechase silver at Moscow 1980 ©Getty Images

Tanzania made its Olympic debut at Tokyo in 1964 and has competed in every Games since with the exception of Montreal in 1976, when they joined the African boycott in protest over a tour by the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team to South Africa, who were banned because of its apartheid policies at the time.

Both medals were silvers won in athletics at Moscow 1980, in the 3,000m steeplechase for Bayi and over 5,000m for Suleiman Nyambui.

Only six athletes represented the African nation at London 2012, in athletics, boxing and swimming, with 33rd place for marathon runner Faustine Mussa the best showing in a generally disappointing performance.

Other Federations have been urged to follow Athletics Tanzania's lead in applying for Solidarity funding in order to produce better results at Rio 2016 and beyond.