Bishop Stuart University’s (BSU) Year-Three Law Student Seth Akampa believes he will match what the likes of Joshua Cheptegei have achieved in their careers after he scooped gold at this year’s FISU World University Cross Country Championship in Muscat, Oman last week.

Akampa, 23, accosted to victory in the 10km race in 0:29.12 to bag his second career gold in the race that attracted 36 other contestants from other countries.

That gold followed his earlier one in the 10,000m race that he won during the National University Games Championships in Mukono last December.

Bishop Stuart University staff Reverand Charles Mukundane (left) and Isaac Muzoora (2nd left) as well as AUUS vice president Vincent Kisenyi (right) Seth Akampa who won gold for Uganda at the World University Cross country championship in Oman . Photo by Michael Nsubuga

“I feel very excited to have won this gold. It was a good experience for me having been my first world championship gold. I feel better and Oman will stick in my memory,” Akampa said at Entebbe Airport on return from the championship.

Despite the harsh weather and tough course, Akampa says he banked on the instructions of his coach and his teammates and shared tactics on how to win in the tough conditions so that they could bring back something home.

“The competition was stiff at first but Coach Okello gave me a good race plan. He was there to command me at any point and he urged me on at every turn.

“Firstly, he advised me to match the pace of the competition and not to rush because of the harsh weather, so I kept alongside the leading pack and when it was time to break away he told me to do it with about a kilometer to go and that is how I did it,” Akampa stated.

He said he expected to win the medal because he prepared for it and continued working out immediately after the AUUS games because Coach Paul Kiwa had alerted him about the pending championship.

AUUS vice president Vincent Kisenyi (left) and the General Secretary Patrick Ssebuliba (4th right) pose with the AUUS team that represented the country at the World University Cross Country Championship in Oman. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

“The University in partnership with Uganda Athletics Federation sent me to a high altitude camp in Kabale and trained under coach Gordon Ahimbisibwe, so I expected this because I trained for it,”

Who did he train with?

Akampa says there are other long distance runners in Kabale who he trained with as they prepared for the national cross country championship.

“AUUS, the university and the country still need a lot from me and I still have a long journey to take in athletics, so this is not the end, I still have to prepare for other bigger tournaments like the FISU World University Games, the All Africa University Games. Now that I’m a champion it means they all need to see me still shining there. So I have to make sure that I’m at the same level in those games,”

Is he the next Cheptegei?

“Yes. Why not, because Cheptegei launched his career at a similar event in Entebbe in 2014 and I have also done the same at almost the same age he was in 2014, so why not?”

He said he has bigger dreams in athletics and he wants to prove that everything is possible and specially to disprove people who think that athletics is for certain regions or ethnicities

“I want to perform well so that every person in Kapchorwa, Kabale and elsewhere can be motivated,” Akampa stated.

Bishop Stuart University staff Sarah Nambowa (left), Isaac Muzoora (4th left), Emilly Kyarikunda and Reverand Charles Mukundane (right) pose with AUUS vice president Vincent Kisenyi (centre) and the General Secretary Patrick Ssebuliba (3rd right) pose with the AUUS team that represented the country at the World University Cross Country Championship in Oman. Photo by Michael Nsubuga

He started his athletics career way back in high school at Kyabenda Secondary School in Kamwenge in 2017 although there wasn’t much competition at the district level which could expose him to bigger competitions but he was blessed when he went to the university that participates in university games and an association (AUUS) that exposes athletes to various competitions so he took advantage of that to reach where he is.

Akampa is a humble man but behind his humbleness is a ‘fighter’ who is ready to do battle under any type of conditions in order to excel.

“To be humble is being disciplined and that is what is required of any aspiring athlete, so I decided to remain humble to exhibit my discipline,”

Coach Paul Okello spoke highly of Akampa saying that he is a good listener but added said he wasn’t surprised because the 10km race has often been won by Uganda athletes.

“He has a bright future and I see him very soon making the senior national team; he is a good talented runner. ­

“It was a sweet victory despite the small team of four that we took to Oman.

“Our athletes took part in their individual races and I’m happy that we brought the gold home and I would really want to encourage the young athletes in secondary schools to join universities so that next time we have a bigger team,” Okello noted.

“We have a small team because there are a few athletes who want to continue running at university level so if they decide to continue with athletics at that level we shall continue our dominance in such games.

“There are so many universities that offer sports scholarships so such students should take advantage of that so that we can have a bigger team for the upcoming events,” Okello noted.

What others say about Akampa

Patrick Ssebuliba the AUUS General Secretry who was with the team in Oman said Akampa has been progressing well since he competed in the World University Championship last year in Chengdu.

“We are excited because we have defended our 10km gold that Dismas Yeko won in Portugal in 2022. So Akampa fought and ensured that we won the gold for the third consecutive time and I promise he will go back and defend his medal because he now holds the record for that race. We are also planning to expose him in other university competitions as we prepare him for the world University Games in Germany next year,” Ssebuliba noted.

AUUS vice president thanked all universities and most especially BSU for supporting the development of sport in the country.

“We have Cheptegei but Akampa is following in his footsteps and it is the universities that produce these athletes’. We are very happy and greaful to the entire team and the universities where these athletes hail from.

“As AUUS we are committed to making sure that our students are exposed to higher competitions to build talent. University sport is great in creating champions. I therefore urge the government to continue supporting university sport because this where you find young talent individuals who are educated and with this comes discipline and commitment, so you cannot go wrong when you support university sport if indeed you want to build a sports profile of a country; it all rests in universities,” Kisenyi stated.

Isaac Muzoora a finance officer at BSU who was part of the welcoming part at the airport says university is excited for the achievement of their athlete and that they will continue investing in sports to groom other stars.

“We offer full scholarships to excelling students and we have other stars in pool table and netball, so we encourage sporting students to join us,” Muzoora said.

“Our sports department has a program that ensures that the students who have talent are given special treatment during studies and during exams such that they are given special attention after doing their sporting events,”