PARIS 2024: Get closer to Team Uganda

Team Uganda achieved their best ever haul of medals with two golds, a silver and a bronze at the last Olympic Games.

ATHLETICS

After their historic performances at Tokyo 2020, all of those medallists are back to compete in Paris 2024 with others that want to show that they are a part of a golden generation of Ugandan athletes.

Uganda’s biggest track superstar is undoubtedly Joshua Cheptegei. He currently holds two world records and became the only Ugandan to win two medals at the same Games when he picked up gold in the 5 000m and silver in the 10 000m at Tokyo 2020.

Jacob Kiplimo finished just behind Cheptegei in the 10 000m race in Tokyo which resulted in the first ever instance of two Ugandans standing on the same Olympic podium.

Since then, Kiplimo has won Commonwealth Gold medals in both the 5 000m and 10 000m and is in a position to challenge Cheptegei when it comes to both of those events in Paris.

Peruth Chemutai has the honour of being the first Ugandan woman to win an Olympic medal when she picked up gold after an amazing effore in the 3 000m steeplechase in Tokyo.

Since then, she has won a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, had some disappointing results in the World Championships but has had some success this year by winning silver at the African Games.

Halimah Nakaayi has come through as a strong medal candidate for the women’s 800m. She was the world champion in 2019 and she set the national record last year with a time of 1:57.62.

When it comes to the marathon, Stephen Kissa is the biggest hope. He set a national record with a time of 2:04:48 in Hamburg two years ago. He competed in the 10 000m at Tokyo 2020 where he selflessly dropped out with nine laps remaining after leading with an unsustainable pace to help Cheptegei and Kiplimo win their medals.

Winnie Nanyondo brings a lot of Olympic experience. This will be her third appearance at the Summer Games. She competed in both the 800m and 1 500m in Tokyo but has specialised in the latter since and will be the only event where she will compete in Paris.

ROWING

It’s not just athletics where Uganda will be represented in Paris. Kathleen Noble became the first rower to represent the nation at the Olympics in Tokyo and is back to compete in the single sculls in Paris.

Born to Irish parents who came to Uganda as missionaries, Noble started out as a swimmer and took up rowing when she was at university. Since rowing isn’t a sport that’s had much investment in Uganda, she’s been known fix donated boats with duct tape and fiberglass so that she could train on Lake Victoria.

SWIMMING

In swimming, Uganda will have two athletes competing. Gloria Muzito is a 21-year-old that will race in the 100m butterfly and Jesse Ssengozi is a 100m butterfly swimmer who competes for the University of Chicago.