Uganda aiming to send 30 athletes to Tokyo Olympics

The Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) will be aiming to take as many as 30 athletes to the Tokyo Olympic Games next year.

The Olympics were originally scheduled to be held in July this year, but the quadrennial showpiece was postponed by a year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

UOC general secretary Donald Rukare told Daily Monitor when asked how many athletes Uganda aimed to send to Tokyo: “We could look at between 25 and 30.”

“We are hoping to get more from swimming, boxing, weightlifting, skating and maybe rugby.”

The training plans of all athletes had been affected due to Covid-19 said Rukare.

“The physical engagement with our members as well as the disruption to the athlete preparations/ training for the postponed Tokyo Games.

The running of the UOC has also had to adapt during the pandemic.

“We have to reprogram our operations, for example, conduct online executive committees, council meetings and the Advance Sports Management Course (ASMC).

The UOC is also still awaiting approval from the government for athletes to be allowed to return to training.

“We are optimistic that the situation will improve to permit sports to operate and training to start for those that have qualified (for Olympics),” Rukare told this paper. “Protecting the safety and health of our athletes remains the central focus.” Before the pandemic, 20 athletes had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics with the list comprising 18 runners of which seven are male marathoners, boxer Musa Bwogi and US-based rower Noble Kathleen.

The UOC’s new program is focused on raising qualified athletes for Japan.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo