Kathleen Noble made history as Uganda’s first rower to participate at the Olympics on Friday. 

The USA based talent participated in the Tokyo 2020 women’s single sculls and made 8:21.85 for 5th in Heat 2.

She was separated by 26 seconds from winner and 2-time world champion Sanita Puspure of Ireland at Sea Forest Waterway. 

Noble is now primed to go again in a repechage on Saturday (2:30am EAT).

A repechage is a contest in which the best-placed of those who failed to win heats compete for a place in the final. 

When to watch Noble compete again; 

Date and Time: Sat July 24 (2:30am – 2:50am EAT)
Venue: Sea Forest Waterway
Women’s Single Sculls Repechage 1-3

The three boxers Uganda took to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games learnt their Round of 32 opponents following the draws conducted on Thursday evening at Kokugikan Arena.

The team captain Shadiri Musa Bwogi got a bye at the Round of 32 and will therefore start his search for the medal at the Round of 16. Bwogi, who fights in the Welterweight category, will take on the winner between Azerbaijan’s Lorenzo Sotomayor Collazo and Georgia’s Eskerkhan Madiev.

Meanwhile, David Ssemujju Kavuma (Middleweight) and Catherine Nanziri (Flyweight), will start at the preliminary round (Round of 32).

Nanziri, Uganda’s only female boxer at the event, will enter the ring first against Japanese opponent Tsukimi Namiki on Sunday, July 25 at 11:15am (Ugandan time).

On the subsequent day (Monday, July 26), Ssemujju will be in the ring to take on Algerian Younes Nemouchi at 12:18pm (Ugandan time)

Ugandan female middle-distance runner Halimah Nakaayi has lauded coach Addy Ruiter’s expertise as she prepares to represent the country at the Olympics in July.

Nakaayi is working to get herself in fine shape ahead of the women’s 800m events at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

Talking up her preparations, the world champion highlighted the importance of teamwork while praising Ruiter’s contribution.

“Teamwork is very important, thanks to coach Addy Ruiter for the wonderful training sessions, may the almighty Allah answer our prayers,” she tweeted.

Team work is very important, thanks to Coach Addy Ruiter for the wonderful training sessions, may the almighty Allah answer our prayers pic.twitter.com/gWgf3YCtKr

— Nakaayi Halima (@NakaayiH) June 21, 2021

Nakaayi is training with fellow Olympics-bound Ugandan runners Ronald Musagala (1500m) as well as the 10,000m and 5000m world record holder Joshua Cheptegei.

With Tokyo Olympics already underway, we continue profiling team Uganda. Today we take a look at Kirabo Namutebi, an exceptional Ugandan swimmer.

Names: Kirabo Namutebi

Age: 16

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Kampala

Birth Country: Uganda

Background: Kirabo Namutebi is born to Hadijja Namanda – the former Uganda Volleyball Federation president, also a retired national table tennis player who played between 1990 – 1998. She is coached by Muzafaru Muwanguzi and Tony Kasujja.

Highlights: Kirabo featured at the FINA World Junior Championship in Budapest Hungary 2019, breaking the Uganda National women’s 50m freestyle record. She also participated in the Africa Junior swimming championship 2019 in Tunisa and won 2 Gold medals and silver. This was the first time for the Uganda National Anthem to be played at the continental events. In the Montgomery County Swim League 2019, she was ranked 2nd in 50 freestyle and among top 6 in 50 breast stroke and 50 Butterfly in the All stars event that climaxes the league. She was crowned USPA swimmer of the year 2013, the youngest recipient of the award at 8 years. She scooped USPA Uganda Female swimmer of the year in 2019.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Initial Participation pending progress; 

Women’s 50m Freestyle Heat 1-12

Date and Time: Fri July 30 ( 1:24pm -1:46pm EAT)

Venue: Tokyo Acquatics Centre

• Guinea has withdrawn from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics according to Sanoussy Bantama Sow, the sports minister
• There are fears that the weather conditions in Tokyo could become hotter, a huge issue that could plunge the games into another difficulty
• Tennis star Andy Murray feels winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics would rank high among his achievements
• Saudi Arabia suffered a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in Group D at the Yokohama Stadium
• Brisbane city was picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid and will also stage the Paralympic games

Guinea have withdrawn from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics due to the Covid 19 pandemic in the country. Sanoussy Bantama Sow, the sports minister, blamed a “resurgence of Covid-19 variants”, but there are also reports of financial issues that mean the government cannot afford to send its five athletes – wrestler Fatoumata Yarie Camara, judoka Mamadou Samba Bah, swimmers Fatoumata Lamarana Toure and Mamadou Tahirou Bah and sprinter Aissata Deen Conte. [The Guardian]

Olympic athletes have arrived ahead of the start of the Tokyo Olympics on Friday at the sharp end of a Japanese summer. The heat and humidity following the rainy season has been a concern since it won the bid to host the Games in 2013. In 2019 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged the organisers to move the Marathon and walking race events to the cooler climes of Sapporo, 800km (500 miles) north of Tokyo. Residents were warned not to exercise outdoors, beach volleyball players practising at Shiokaze park complained that the sand was too hot for their feet, prompting staff to hose down the playing surface while athletes waited in the shade. [The Guardian]

Andy Murray feels winning a medal at the Tokyo Olympics would rank as one of the best achievements of his career given his torrid struggles with injuries. Murray will face in-form ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the singles draw while the men’s doubles draw, where his chances of a deep run were perhaps likelier alongside Joe Salisbury they were handed a tie against second seeds Pierre Hugues-Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who have won five grand slam titles together. [The Guardian]

A spirited performance on their return to the Olympics for the first time since 1996 was not sufficient for Saudi Arabia to avoid a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Côte d’Ivoire in Group D at the Yokohama Stadium. After 39 minutes, the deadlock was broken when miscommunication between defender Abdulelah Al Amri and goalkeeper Mohammed Al Rubaie saw the former inadvertently convert a cross from Côte d’Ivoire captain Max Gradel from the left flank past his own goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The young Green Falcons found the equaliser when Al Hilal teammate Salem Al Dawsari curled an effort from the edge of the area nestling in the back of the net. AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie restored Cote d’Ivoire’s lead in the 67th minute. Saudi Arabia take on Germany on Sunday, while Côte d’Ivoire play Brazil earlier in the day in their Matchday Two fixture. [The AFC]

The Olympic Games in 2032 will be hosted in the city of Brisbane, Australia. This was confirmed on Wednesday and the games will be returning to Australia 32 years after the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Brisbane city was picked to host 2032 Olympics without a rival bid and will also stage the Paralympic games. [Kawowo Sports]

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games draw closer, we take a look at Atuhaire Ambala Ogola’s profile, a Ugandan swimmer.

Name: Atuhaire Ambala Ogola

Age: 20

Gender: Male

Place of birth: Kampala

Birth Country: Uganda

Background: Atuhaire’s inspiration is Ugandan long distance runner Joshua Cheptegei. The youngster turns out for Dolphins Swimming Club. 

Highlights: Ambala represented Uganda at the 2019 World Acquatics Championships in Gwanghwamun, South Korea. He featured in the men’s 500 meters freestyle and men’s 100 metre freestyle events. In 2018, he again carried Uganda’s flag to compete at the 2018 African Swimming Championships in Algiers, Algeria before making the 2019 African Games the following year in Rabat, Morocco.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Initial Participation pending progress;

Men’s 100m Freestyle Heat 1-8

Date and Time: Tue July 27 (1:00pm to 3:23pm EAT)
Venue: Tokyo Acquatics Centre

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games get underway, we take a look at Catherine Nanziri’s profile, a Ugandan boxer.

Names: Catherine Nanziri

Age: 21

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Kampala

Birth Country: Uganda

Background: Nanziri started boxing in 2015 at Aggrey Memorial College in Bunnamwaya, on the outskirts of Kampala and she barely received support because many of her colleagues thought she wouldn’t excel in that journey. She trained from Zana Boxing Club but after O-Level, she quit to do vocational studies before returning three years later.

Highlights: Naziri won silver at the 2018 National Intermediates and claimed silver at the 2019 National Open. She booked a flyweight spot in the African Qualifiers in Dakar after shinning at the National Olympic Trials in January 2020. Nanziri qualified for the Tokyo Olympics thanks to her continental rankings.

2020 Tokyo Olympics Initial Participation pending progress;

Date and Time: Sun 25 July (5:00 am – 12:00pm EAT)
Venue: Ryōgoku Kokugikan
Women’s Fly Weight (48-51kg) Round of 32

As the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Games get underway, we take a look at Ssemujju Kavuma David’s profile, a Ugandan boxer.

Names: Ssemujju Kavuma David

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Birth Country: Uganda

Residence Country: Uganda

Highlights: Ssemujju secured a spot at the Tokyo Olympics through the IOC boxing task force rankings. He represented Uganda at the Rabat Africa Games in 2019, attaining rank 2 in the middle weight category. He also earned a ticket to the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games but unfortunately lost to England’s Luke McCormack in the Men’s 64kg round of 32. 

2020 Tokyo Olympics Initial Participation pending progress; 

Men’s Middle Weight (69-75kg) Round of 32

Date and Time: Sun 25 July (6:36am – 1:39pm EAT)

Venue: Ryōgoku Kokugikan

• The head of the WHO Tedris Adhanom Ghebreyesus has backed the progress of the games despite the raging COVID 19 pandemic.
• First event of the Tokyo Olympics takes place before opening ceremony.
• Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko was found by police after fleeing for greener pastures. He said he wanted to work in the country rather than returning home.
• Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony gets underway on Friday at 12:30pm (EAT).

With the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), has backed the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, even as a surge in the Delta variant drives a resurgence of COVID-19 around the world. 

The event has faced continued opposition just days before the opening ceremony however Tedros believes the games will unite and ignite solidarity and determination. 

Speaking to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Tokyo, Ghebreyesus, acknowledged the scale of the problem posed by the pandemic but drew parallels between the Olympic spirit and the need for governments and people around the world to work together to beat the virus.

“May these Games be the moment that unites the world, and ignites the solidarity and determination we need to end the pandemic together, by vaccinating 70 percent of the population of every country by the middle of next year,” the hi WHO chief said on Wednesday. [via Aljazeera]

The first event of the Tokyo Olympics took place just before the Opening Ceremony. Japanese pitcher Yukiko Ueno delivered the first ball as they were taking on Australia. Softball was revived for the Tokyo Games after being dropped after 2008. The initial two days of games are being held at a baseball stadium in Fukushima. [via Aljazeera]

Ugandan weightlifter Julius Ssekitoleko has been found four days after he disappeared from an Olympic training camp in Japan leaving a note saying he wanted to find work, police said Tuesday. The 20-year-old had recently found out he would not be able to compete at the Tokyo Games, which open on Friday, because of a quota system.

A note was found in his room requesting his belongings be sent to his family in Uganda, according to officials in Izumisano city in Osaka prefecture, where the team was training. Police said Ssekitoleko had travelled to Nagoya in central Japan and then to nearby Gifu prefecture, before moving south to Mie. [via Channel News Asia]

The Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony will take place on Friday, July 23. The event gets underway at 12:30pm (EAT) and will be held in the main Olympic Stadium, which will host athletics and football during the Games. Japan’s technological advancements and video game characters are thought to be the theme of the ceremony. [via The Evening Standard]

Long-distance runner Joshua Cheptegei is carrying the hopes of more than 40 million Ugandans for the country’s third Olympic title when the Tokyo Games get underway at the end of July 2021.

Kiprotich, Akii-Bua surprises

The man from Kapchorwa will seal his status as the country’s greatest sportsman ever should he win the 10000m final race on July 30. It could be a very special feat in comparison to those that came before.

When Stephen Kiprotich powered to marathon gold on the final day of the London Olympics on August 12, 2012, the sweet gift came largely as a big surprise to the Ugandan population.

This was Uganda’s first Olympic title in 40 years since John Akii-Bua had also stunned the world to the 400m hurdles glory during the 1972 Munich Games in Germany.

Akii-Bua then became the first man ever in history to run that race under 48 seconds when he won in a world record time of 47.82 seconds on September 2, 1972.

Cheptegei man to watch

Those two moments are the major highlights of Uganda’s Olympic journey which dates back to Melbourne 1956. But never in history has a Ugandan gone in for an Olympic event as the favourite.

However, Cheptegei will be the man to watch when a field of 28 men from 17 countries lines up on the maroon track at the Tokyo National Stadium.

For a man who has given it his all since impressing with second place at the 2014 Bangalore TCS World 10K in Bengaluru, India, this will be Cheptegei’s most important career race yet.

The 24-year-old is eyeing Olympic gold over the 25-lap distance to add to his world title in the Japanese capital.

Painful wait for Tokyo

He painfully had to wait a whole year for this moment to come. The coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of these quadrennial Games from last July.

And after, Japan had to withstand the storm from critics, health experts and the audible temptations to cancel the Games. But here we are!

Cheptegei is the face among Uganda’s 25 representatives across four disciplines that is primed to boss the Tokyo stage.

When the International Olympic Committee bowed to Covid-19 to postpone the Games last year, Cheptegei didn’t cry over spilled milk.

World records uplift profile

He instead chose to keep his head up and raised his profile by breaking Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele’s world records over the 5000m and 10000m.

Cheptegei, who had earlier secured the 5km world record at the Monaco Herculis Run, lowered Bekele’s 16-year-old mark over the 12-and-a-half lap race by almost two seconds to 12 minutes and 35.36 seconds at the Monaco Diamond League in France last August.

Then 54 days later, Cheptegei again dethroned his idol Bekele, this time breaking the 15-year-old 10000m world record by 6.53 seconds to 26 minutes and 11.00 seconds during the NN Running World Record Day in Valencia, Spain.

Missing Olympic medal

At this moment, Cheptegei holds those world records, the world 10000m title, the World Cross-country gold, and the Commonwealth long-distance double.

No Ugandan has ever scaled these and Cheptegei’s cabinet doesn’t have the Olympic gold. He is gunning for it.

Yet, whereas he’s the favourite over the 10000m and also planning to double over the 5000m event in Tokyo, Cheptegei also knows the bitter side of sport – defeat.

He was left crestfallen when he was relegated to social media banter after he shockingly withered from first to finish a distant 30th during the senior men’s race at the World Cross-country Championships in front of Ugandans led by President Yoweri Museveni at Kololo on March 26, 2017.

Now a ruthless beast

That mishap may have humbled Cheptegei but, for just a moment. The lessons learnt from that failure have instead shaped him to a pretty tough long-distance beast.

He responded by scooping 10000m silver behind Great Britain’s Mo Farah at the London World Championships in England later that year before winning the 5000m and 10000m double at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Then in 2019, he crushed the Kololo demons to win the Cross-country title in Aarhus, Denmark before upgrading the London show to win 10000m gold inside the Khalifa Stadium during the Doha World Championships in Qatar.

He would finish the year also with the 5000m Diamond League trophy as well as the 10km world record in Valencia.

Cheptegei is currently the global face of track long-distance running and even if he struggled in the last two laps of the 5000m to lose his lead and finish sixth at the Rome Diamond League in Florence, Italy on June 10, he remains upbeat.

Strong field awaits

He is backed by Dutch management Global Sports Communication, the group which has produced several Olympic champions including Bekele, another Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, and Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge among others.

Coached by Dutch man Addy Ruiter in Kapchorwa, Cheptegei wants to walk into the footsteps of these men and he is not shy about saying that he wants to become the greatest athlete ever.

Such profiles are made of Olympic delight and it is what is on his mind. He will however need to beat the field which comprises troublesome Ethiopians Yomif Kejelcha, Selemon Barega and Berihu Aregawi.

Cheptegei only peeled away from Kejelcha in the final 150m to win gold in Doha. Then, there is also a Kenyan trio which has three-time World Half-Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor.

In his race notes with Ruiter, Cheptegei has not spared his counterpart Jacob Kiplimo who is ranked as the world number one over the 10000m race.

Kiplimo, who scooped the 21km world title back in Gdynia, Poland last October, won the 10000m race at the Ostrava Golden Spike Meeting in Czech Republic in a time of 26:33.93, the seventh fastest ever.

Other familiar foes in Cheptegei’s way include Canadian Ahmed Mohammed who took silver medals behind him three years ago on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. 

Swiss Julien Wanders and Eritrean Aron Kifle also present formidable challenges.

CHEPTEGEI PROFILE
Date of birth: September 12, 1996
Major Races: 5000m, 10000m
Personal Bests: 5000m (12:35.36), 10000m (26:11.00)
Coach: Addy Ruiter
Manager: Jurrie van der Velden

CHEPTEGEI’S PERSONAL BESTS
TRACK

1500m: 3:37.82 (Nijmegen 2016)

3000m: 7:33.24 (Ostrava 2021)

2-mile: 8:07.54 NR (Stanford 2019)

5000m: 12:35.36 WR (Monaco 2020)

10000m: 26:11.00 WR (Valencia 2020)

ROAD

5km: 12:51 WR (Monaco 2020)

10km: 26:38 NR (Valencia 2019)

15km: 41:05 WR (Nijmegen 2018)

Denotes: NR – National Record, WR – World Record, WB – World Best, Personal Best – PB

LAST 11 RACES FOR CHEPTEGEI
2021
Feb 14: 1st Monaco Run

Apr 24: 3rd 1500m UAF Trials

May 19: 1st 3000m Ostrava Golden Spike

Jun 10: 6th 5000m Rome DL Meeting
2020
Feb 16: 5K World Record

Aug 14: 5000m World Record

Oct 7: 10000m World Record

Oct 17: 4th World Half-Marathon Champs
2019
Dec 1: 10K World Record

Oct 6: World 10000m Gold

Aug 29: 5000m Diamond League Trophy

CHEPTEGEI AT MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

2014 World Junior Champs 4th, 5000m (13:32.84)

2014 World Junior Champs 1st, 10000m (28:32.86)

2014 African Champs DNF, 10000m (DNF)

2015 African Junior Champs 1st, 10000m (29:58.70)

2015 World Champs Beijing 9th, 10000m (27:48.89)

2016 Olympic Games Rio 8th, 5000m (13:09.17)

2016 Olympic Games Rio 6th, 10000m (27:10.06)

2017 World Cross-country 30th, Senior race (30:08)

2017 World Champs 2nd, 10000m (26:49.94)

2018 Commonwealth Games  Gold Coast 1st, 5000m (13:50.83)

2018 Commonwealth Games  Gold Coast 1st, 10000m (27:19.62)

2019 World Cross-country Champs 1st, 10km (31:40)

2019 World Champs Doha 1st, 10000m (26:48.36)