A look at Uganda's Olympic stars

THE BEST OF THE BEST

The Olympics are arguably the biggest sporting stage. Exceling at the Games is ground for sports immortality, and names like Jesse Owens, Carl Lewis and Haile Gebrselassie will always stand out for outstanding feats at this competition. Uganda, too, has had its share of stars at these prestigious quadrennial games. James Bakama lists Uganda's heroes since the country's first participation in 1956 in Vancouver.

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John Akii-Bua

He was Uganda's first Olympic champion and he did it in style. Akii-Bua won the 400m hurdles at the 1972 Munich Olympics in a world record.

He clocked 47.82 seconds, thereby becoming the first man to run the low hurdles under 48 seconds.  He then crowned it all with the first ever lap of honour at a major sports event.

RELATED: John Akii-Bua - Uganda's haunted Olympic hero


Stephen Kiprotich

It took Uganda four decades to strike gold again at the Olympics. Stephen Kiprotich was the new hero as he won the marathon at the 2012 London Games.

On his way to gold, Kiprotich outwitted the revered Kenyans, who included then world record holder Wilson Kipsang and world champion Abel Kirui.

Leo Rwabwogo

The flyweight and later bantamweight boxer stands out amongst Uganda's Olympic achievers as the only one to have won two medals.

He first shot into the limelight at the 1968 Mexico Games when he won bronze. He made it to the podium again at the next games in Munich with silver.

Eridad Mukwanga

The bantamweight boxer won Uganda's first Olympic silver. This was at the 1968 games in Mexico. Speaking in a 1996 interview, Mukwanga said he deserved gold and blamed the largely white jury for what he described as biased officiation.

John "The Beast" Mugabi

The welterweight boxer was Uganda's lone medalist at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. He settled for silver in the then USSR capital.

He lost a close battle with Cuba's Andres Aldama. Aldama had at the previous games lost the final to USA's Sugar Ray Leonard.

"The Beast" in later years

Davis Kamoga

Like Kiprotich, he got almost everyone by surprise when he won bronze in the 400m at the Atlanta 1996 games. Quarter mile legend Michael Johnson won the race.

Moses Kipsiro

He is one of Uganda's most talented athletes who never made it to the Olympic podium. He, however, came very close at the 2008 Beijing Games when he finished fourth in a 5000m final won by Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele. Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge and Edwin Cheruiyot took silver and bronze respectively.

4x400 relay team

John Goville, Moses Kyeswa, Peter Rwamuhanda and Mike Okot set a 3.2 minute national record at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

In the opening preliminary, they were third, before finishing fourth in the semi-final. Then they finished seventh in the final.

Charles Lubulwa

One of the longest serving boxing captains, Lubulwa featured at a record three games: 1980, 1984 and 1988. In 1980, he was underage at 16 and paid dearly for his inexperience with an early stoppage.

Mary Musoke

She displayed rare resilience to become the first and only Ugandan woman to make a hattrick of Olympic appearances. She made her maiden appearance at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. She was back in 1996 and 2000.