Prime
Kasujja anticipates top swims from Muzito, Ssengonzi
Networking. Kasujja (R) at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
Kasujja will coach Uganda’s hottest prospects yet at the Olympics in Jesse Ssengonzi (100m butterfly) and Gloria Muzito (100m freestyle).
Coach Tonnie Kasujja is excited to lead Uganda’s swimming team at his first ever Olympics in Paris.
Kasujja will coach Uganda’s hottest prospects yet at the Olympics in Jesse Ssengonzi (100m butterfly) and Gloria Muzito (100m freestyle).
“This is a huge milestone for me and I am happy and excited but most importantly, it is a learning opportunity since this is the epitome of all Olympic sports,” Kasujja says.
Kasujja coaches with Dolphins Swim Club, where he first built a huge reputation between 2005 and 2020 as a stroke technician before the swimmers moved into elite performance levels.
Post Covid-19, the club had a major split that left him as head coach. Dolphins has been as dominant as it used to be since but some of his swimmers like brothers Pendo and Tendo Kaumi, Ian Aziku among others are arguably the best on the local scene.
The former all-round swimmer, who represented the country at Sub-Saharan competitions and Makerere University in continental events in his heyday, undoubtedly went through major transformations in his coaching education and experiences in Germany and Japan and during his internship in Canada.
The philosophy
“I have been growing through the ranks and working with different athletes. These countries have had tremendous performances in swimming for years and the experience helped me develop myself.
For me, the most important thing is to understand that swimming is a life skill so I have to develop an athlete that can perform in different spheres.You have to understand that they are humans who can only perform in the right environment,” Kasujja shares.
Kasujja will demand of himself the ability to create the right environment for Ssengonzi and Muzito to perform “and show they can be strong, able to challenge and be aggressive enough to deliver.”
Huge reputation
“They have to know they are not here by mistake but on merit. They now have to be selfless, work hard and motivate through their performances as many young swimmers as possible to follow their path.
“Jesse has been performing at the highest level for a long time while Gloria has developed so hard and also performed at the European level before she got an injury that stayed with her for a while around 2017. She is now putting up podium performances at the continental level,” Kasujja says.
AT A GLANCE
Name: Tonnie Kasujja
Club: Dolphins (joined 2005)
Started coaching in 2001
Major events: World Championships; Fukuoka 2023, Windsor 2016, African Games 2023, Commonwealth Games 2022
Headed to the Olympics
Swum for Makerere University
