By Ivor Sempa and Joseph Lagen
The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) was until mid-March staring at a possibility of cancelling their season opener activity, the national athletics trials. The athletics body was contemplating cancelling the event after their usual venue, Namboole Stadium, was ruled out because it was a holding facility for Covid-19 patients. Their other option, the Kyambogo University grass track, was unavailable because Uganda’s electoral body had camped at the facility during the 2021 general election.
However, the trials finally took place on March 13 after Uganda Christian University (UCU) accepted to host the event at the Mukono campus track field station.
“We are happy to have been granted this field, free of charge, by UCU,” Mr. Dominic Otuchet, UAF’s president said.
The events at the trials included several track races, such as the 5,000m, 4,000m, 1,500m, 800m, 200m and 100m. Athletes also participated in events like javelin, shot put and long jump.
Uganda has embarked on the preparations for Tokyo Olympics that were postponed from last year to July 23-August 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The 2020 Olympic games were postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The trials were graced by some of Uganda’s elite sports athletes. These included: Halimah Nakaayi, winner of the women’s 800m in 2019’s Doha World Athletics Championships; Stephen Kiprotich, a long-distance double gold medalist for the Olympics and World Championships in 2012 and 2013; and Joshua Cheptegei, the current world record holder for both the 10,000m and 5,000m.
UCU also had its representatives that Saturday. They included undergraduate students Juscent Nyamahunge (100m, 400m), Sidonia Atto (400m, long jump), Williamson Oroma (400m) and Linda Evelyn Achan (100m). Nyamahunge and Atto are from the Faculty of Education, while Oroma is pursuing a Bachelor of Governance and International Relations course. Achan is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration course.
In addition to the athletics teams from the Uganda Police, Uganda Wildlife Authority and Uganda Prisons, universities of Ndejje and Makerere also had representatives at the trials.
Nyamahunge, UCU’s team captain, said the trials were the first opportunity for them to compete nationally since the lockdown was instituted in March 2020. As part of the lockdown measures to limit the spread of the coronavirus, government banned sports activities in the country. The ban was later lifted after more than six months.
“Running alongside Uganda’s athletics stars, including a World Record holder, helps the student athletes create realistic benchmarks for themselves in preparation for the trials’ second heat in July this year,” Nyamahunge said.
Sam Lukayire, the sports department’s administrator at UCU, shared the same sentiments. “Not many young Ugandan athletes get to run alongside their heroes; that is what makes today special,” Lukayire said.
UCU athletics coach Timothy Kabuye, a certified International Athletics Association Federations (IAAF) trainer, beams with pride over the performance of his team.
“Given the times, we have done well. We can only improve from here,” he said. “I thank the university for offering us this opportunity.”
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