Who will pick the baton from departing trio?

On her Olympic debut, Nakaayi came a miserable 17th in the 800m. But the 2011 Commonwealth Youth champion in 400m would go on to become just one of three Ugandan women to appear at three Olympic editions.  Table tennis’s Mary Musoke was the first and Nakaayi’s sisterly friend Winnie Nanyondo the other.

Nakaayi and Nanyondo have exhibited some consistency and sacrifice so rare among Ugandan athletes, especially women. 

Despite specialising in middle distance, these girls have accumulated kilometres of mileage in the countless races they have run across the globe in a span of more than a decade.

However, the bad news, yet to be read, was evident in Paris, they might soon say goodbye.

In Paris both failed to reach the finals, despite being given a second chance, aka the repechage. Nakaayi raised hopes with her 1:57.26 minute run at the London Athletics Meet July 20, a personal best she didn’t come even close to in the 800m heats in Paris on August 2.

Nanyondo, who had struggled with injury prior, was no better in the 1500m heats, where she finished 10th in 4:07:06 minutes despite being among the leading three for the better part of the race. In the repechage, she had to win to reach the semis. She was eighth.

Nakaayi, a 2019 world champion, is officially 29. Nanyondo, a 2014 Commonwealth bronze medalist, is 30. They may stick around, pick a few dollars from the track, before they hang up their spikes. It’s a safer bet they won’t be in Los Angeles 2028.

The Nakaayi-Nanyondo story may be incomplete without the name Ronald Musagala. The 2018 African Championships bronze medallist made his Olympic debut at Rio 2016. That he did not finish the 1500m heats at Tokyo 2020 and was absent at Paris 2024, provokes the question: who takes over from him?

Huge gap

“The Halima we know should have easily qualified for the finals, but I think her body just switched off,” said Coach Rafael Kasaija, who shaped Nakaayi and Nanyondo.

So, what next?

Kasaija said there are some runners coming up, but are still young.  “The gap is really huge in the middle distance, so the wait will be longer for the youngsters to mature.”

Kasaija, however, regrets that Nakaayi’s form fell drastically from her personal best of 1:57:26 to over two minutes in barely two weeks.

“It could be a result of a small mistake in training or tactics. Or it could be exhaustion because having been to many events, she may need some rest,” Kasaija said. “For Winnie, she has just returned from a career-threatening injury.”

Knight Aciru is one of the rising stars but, Kasaija said, not ready for the baton because she is yet to break the two-minute barrier in the 800m.

Tom Dradriga, who replaced Musagala at Paris 2024, finished sixth in the 800m heats in 1:46.15 minutes, just five seconds slower than Emmanuel Wanyonyi’s 1:41.19 which won gold. But Dradriga’s Olympic debut came at 28. Does he have the time to improve?         

Or how long should we wait for Musagala’s brother Patrick Kirano and Domenic Krop to come of age in the 1500m? “Krop is trying but still hasn’t broken the under 3:35-minute barrier.”

In fact, his personal best is 3:48.02, achieved at the Akii-Bua Memorial Championship in June 2023. The juniors, Kasaija said, are far slower.

Long distance allure?

But what could be the problem? Kasaija said middle-distance coaches are few.  But there is also the allure of money in long distance races.

“Very few people run the 1500m because the majority of the well-paying races are 5000m, 10,000 and road races.  So, a 1500m runner whose tempo is high, can easily fit in the 5000m, where the tempo is slower and gets the money. In fact, many middle distance runners have opted for that."

However, Kasaija said the Uganda Secondary Schools Sports Association (USSSA) is doing a good job in identifying talent and building capacity. "The results may not be instant, but in about three years, you will see them"

No Noble hat-trick

Kathleen Noble, Uganda's first rower at the Olympics, announced her retirement even before her final race in Paris.

“I am ready to start a family; I am ready to have a new stage of life. And so, I also (want to) try to give other people a chance to compete for Uganda,” Noble told this paper during the Games in Paris.

Noble says her transition from swimming to being a two-time Olympic rower was at first unlikely. But who takes over from her, now that the software engineer will focus on her family and career, is unknown.

Noble was among the few Ugandans who used those boats donated by the World Rowing Federation in 2009. But those boats were so tired that the Tennessee-based Noble felt indebted to ship in more equipment for Ugandan rowers.

“When I was rowing on Lake Victoria, we were still using the boats donated back in 2009. We would be duct-taping them and trying to get people to patch them up with fiberglass for us," she told CNN.

Rodrick Muhumuza, the technical director of the  Federation, also mentioned the lack of coaches, "because many seek greener pastures abroad."

But Noble gives a sliver of hope. “I feel a sense of responsibility to try and help support athletes back home,” she told CNN before the Games.

“I believe that the actual position that I come from is less important than the spotlight that exists around the Olympics. That gives me the platform to raise awareness about the limitations and struggles that athletes have in Uganda to a global audience.”

NAKAAYI

Olympic span: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024

Favourite race: 800m

Career high: 2019 World Championship gold

NANYONDO

Olympic span: Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024

Favourite race: 1500m

Career high: 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze

NOBLE

Olympic span: Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024

Favourite race: Single Scull

Career high: Olympic debut at Tokyo