Uganda stamped its authority once again on the world stage, Winning two gold medals from Joshua Cheptegei and Victor Kiplagant in the men’s 10,000m and half marathon finals at the 2023 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. 

The performance seems a bit flattering to Uganda considering that the likes of USA pocketed 29, both Ethiopia and Kenya took home 10 and 9 medals respectively but to those that understand the magnitude gold holds, it is a big achievement.

Yet, Uganda’s 11th position, Cheptegei’s third world title in a row, and Victor Kiplagant following in the footsteps of Jacob Kiplimo winning a gold medal at such a young age does not give us confidence that the Ugandan Athletics Federation has figured it all out. 

Meanwhile, women’s performance is far more concerning than worrying about the future of Athletics. You have probably had questions like is Halima Nakayi and Winnie Nanyondo at the evening of their careers, will Peruth Chemutai ever repeat her heroics in the 3000m steeplechase, can Prisca Chesang and Sarah Chelagant hold on and steer the wheels? 

The reality is, in Uganda, we have not had female athletes (runners) dominate in Athletics for a while. Yes, the likes of Halima Nakayi and Winnie Nanyondo have been competing since 2010 at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore up to date and I applaud them for that consistency and longevity. 

However, the lack of competitiveness and absence of medals in major competitions sends a wrong signal to potential sponsors and managers who want to invest in female runners. 

Mediocre performance can be quantified by many factors, especially for female athletes. These are women who have endured the heavy weight of competing on the world stage and the game has not been a buffet line.

East African athletics powerhouses Ethiopia and Kenya understand the quote “To achieve greatness, you need to add more to make greatness” and Uganda has to follow the same queue line.

Maybe we already knew that the Uganda Athletics Federation has to improve female runners in every aspect of their game but Budapest tempted us to look ahead as quickly as possible. 

Once athletes have committed themselves to serving the country, it is better and for worse for the Uganda Athletics Federation. 

There are still many tournaments for UAF to prove us wrong but personally am here for it. I would love to see if they have projects to develop elite female runners because am so certain the young guns are there ready to storm the world.