UAF lauded for including student-athletes in Jinja half marathon

The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) has been commended for involving student runners in the just-concluded 12th edition of the Source of the Nile Half Marathon, which took place Sunday in Jinja city.

In previous editions, only elite runners were allowed to compete in the annual event, which has unearthed several national team athletes over the years.

However, Sunday’s race saw over 150 student runners from Jinja-based schools participate in the boys' and girls' 5km fan run.

"In the past years, only elite runners have competed in the annual event, but after seeing students from Jinja SSS, my former school, Jinja College, Wairaka College, Kiira College, and Wanyange Girls, I feel that the future is bright for the sport. This means we shall have more educated elite runners who will surely represent our country well to promote tourism," said Noordine Yusuf, the director Hared Petroleum Group of Companies.

Meanwhile, UAF vice president for administration, Lawrence Kavuma, highlighted that the federation made this move to provide more opportunities for young athletes in schools.

"As a federation, we decided to bring in five schools, knowing that Jinja is a ripe district ready to produce more athletes who will excel in the game. On the other hand, we are organising training courses for more athletics coaches within this region. This will help the federation unearth and train more potential stars," said Kavuma.

Chebet shines 

In the women’s elite category, Uganda Prisons Club coach Issa Kosgoi was delighted to see his runner, Saibi Chebet, dominate the 21km race.

"With our slogan of 'toil hard and fight hard,' this helped Chebet outpace everyone with ease today. We are now hoping to compete in the next qualifiers," said Coach Kosgoi.

"The race was not okay for me, but I tried my best and won. This is my stepping stone, for I want to target the gold medal in the World Athletics Championships," noted Chebet, who took home a cash prize of Shs 2m after beating UWA Club’s runner and last year’s champion, Annet Chelangat, who finished second and earned Shs 1.5m.

UPDF’s Ruth Cheptoyet claimed third place, winning sh1m, while Uganda Police Club’s duo Patricia Chekwemboi and Gloria Chebet took home sh800,000 and sh600,000, respectively.

In the men’s category, Arua Club’s Mark Chepto secured victory despite struggling with the humid conditions in the early stages of the race.

"I felt a lot of headache in the first ten thousand kilometres, but after pouring water on my head, the intense heat from the sun could no longer affect my running to the finishing line," said Chepto, who beat UWA Club’s Oscar Chebet and last year’s winner, Mande Chebet, to claim the sh2m top prize.

Rising stars

The boys' fan run saw outstanding performances from Jinja SSS’s Francis Namunye, Jinja College’s Gordione Sabila, Lukungu Athletics Academy runner John Long, UCU’s Charles Lukunye, and Jinja SSS’s Patrick Mukose.

In the girls' category, winners included Jinja SSS’s Hope Chemutai, MM College Wairaka’s Annet Kobe, Wairaka College’s Pross Namudope, and Ritah Manjeri.