Uganda competed at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

in Munich, West Germany which were held from 26 August to 11 September 1972. The nation's delegation consisted of 33 athletes: seventeen field hockey players, eight boxers and eight track and field athletes John Akii-Bua's gold medal in the men's 400m hurdles was the first gold won by a Ugandan athlete at an Olympic Games. He also set a new world record in the final of the event. Boxer

Leo Rwabwogo Leo Rwabwogo (3 June 1949 – 14 January 2009) was a Ugandan boxer, who won two Olympic medals during his career as an amateur in the flyweight division (up to 51 kg). He won a bronze medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico C ...

won a silver medal in the men's flyweight division, becoming the only Ugandan athlete to have won more than one Olympic medal. Judith Ayaa set a new African record in the women's 400m while 16-year-old Rose Musani became the youngest Ugandan athlete ever to have competed at an Olympic Games, a record which stood until 1980. 41-year-old Elly Kitamireke of the field hockey team that competed at the event remains the oldest Ugandan athlete to have competed at an Olympic Games.

Background

Uganda first took part in an Olympic Games at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne, Australia, although the nation was still a British protectorate at the time. The Uganda Olympic Committee had been officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee in January of the same year. The nation became fully independent in October 1962, competing under its own flag for the first time at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

. The

were held between 26 August to 11 September in Munich, West Germany with the Games being based at the Olympiapark. A total of 7,134 athletes competed in 195 events. The 1972 Games were the fifth edition that Uganda had entered. The nation sent a delegation of 33 athletes, consisting of 31 men and two women. The majority of the delegation consisted of the nation's field hockey team of 17 players. The delegation contained five athletes who had competed at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

in Mexico City. Sprinter William Dralu had been eliminated in the heats of the men's 200m event. Boxer Matthias Ouma had been eliminated in his first fight, while

Mohamed Muruli Mohamed Muruli (13 July 1947 – 1995) was a Ugandan boxer. He was born in Kichwamba, Kabarole District, Uganda, and died in 1995 in Fort Portal in Kabarole District. Muruli competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, where he reache ...

and David Jackson had both been defeated in the quarter-finals. The remaining boxer,

, progressed to the semi-finals before suffering defeat to Polish fighter

Artur Olech Artur Olech (22 June 1940 – 12 August 2010) was a Polish boxer. He was born in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union and died in Wroclaw, Poland. Olech won two silver medals at the Olympic Games, in 1964 in Tokyo and 1968 in Mexico C ...

. In doing so, he won a bronze medal, one of two medals won by Uganda at the 1968 Games and the first Olympic medals the nation had ever won. The other medal was a silver won by fellow boxer

Eridadi Mukwanga Eridadi Mukwanga (12 July 1943 – January 1998) was a Ugandan boxer, silver medalist at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Ugandan leader Idi Amin was one of several African leaders that threatened to withdraw his nation's athletes from the competition if

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

was allowed to compete. Four days before the Games were due to begin, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) expelled Rhodesia from the Games due to mounting political pressure.

Medalists

Gold

* John Akii-Bua — Athletics, men's 400 metres hurdles

Silver

— Boxing, men's flyweight

Athletics

Uganda increased its participation in track and field events for the 1972 Games, entering eight athletes compared to three at the 1968 Games. This included two female athletes, the first the nation had entered since the

in Tokyo. Sprinter William Dralu entered the

100m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a Sprint (running), sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run th ...

events. He was eliminated in the heats of both events after recording times of 10.92 and 21.87. Fulgence Rwabu took part in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

, placing 59th out of 62 runners who finished the race. Two other track and field athletes,

Silver Ayoo Silver Ayoo (born 26 November 1950) is a Ugandan former athlete who competed as a sprinter in 400 metre events. He represented Uganda at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1980 Summer Olympics. Ayoo took part in the 400 metres race at the 1972 Summer O ...

and

Vitus Ashaba Vitus Ashaba (21 April 1943 – 1985) was a Ugandan middle-distance running, middle-distance runner. He competed in the Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 1500 metres, men's 1500 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics. References

were both eliminated in the heats of their respective events. Ayoo placed seventh in his heat for the

400m The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

while Ashaba placed eighth and tenth in his heats for the

1500m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and

3000m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the h ...

. Triple jumper Abraham Munabi failed to progress past the qualifying round of his event, placing 22nd. The remaining male athlete, John Akii-Bua entered the

400m hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is a track and field hurdling event. The event has been on the Summer Olympics, Olympic athletics (sport), athletics programme since 1900 Summer Olympics, 1900 for men and since 1984 Summer Olympics, 1984 for women. On a s ...

. He had previously failed to qualify for the 1968 Games in the shorter distance hurdles. He finished his heat in first place before repeating the feat in his semi-final, beating his time in his heat by more than a second. In the final of the event, Akii-Bua was drawn in lane one, generally considered the most difficult draw. He went on to win the race and set a new world record time for the event of 47.82 seconds, the first runner in history in the 400m hurdles to record a time under 48 seconds. His victory also made him the first Ugandan athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and the first African athlete to win a gold medal in an event shorter than 800m. The two female athletes, Judith Ayaa and Rose Musani, competed in the

and

respectively. Musani was the youngest athlete in the Ugandan delegation, aged 16 years and 28 days at the Games. She was the youngest athlete ever to compete for Uganda at an Olympic Games until boxer Charles Lubulwa entered the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

aged 15 years and 206 days. Musani qualified from her heat in fifth place with a time of 25.37 seconds. In the quarter-finals, she recorded a marginally better time but was eliminated after finishing eighth. Ayaa also qualified from her heat in the 400m, finishing fourth. She surpassed Musani by qualifying from the quarter-final, setting a new African record of 52.68 seconds after finishing third. She was eliminated in the semi-finals, finishing seventh in her race. ;Men ;Track & road events ;Field events ;Women ;Track events

Boxing

Uganda sent eight boxers to compete in the Games. Light-welterweight Mohamed Muruli was eliminated in the first round by Romanian Calistrat Cuțov. Four of the squad were defeated in their first fights, Matthias Ouma,

John Opio John Opio (born 28 October 1951) is a Ugandan boxer. He competed in the men's light middleweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich ...

Deogratias Musoke Deogratias Musoke (born 20 July 1949) is a Ugandan boxer. He competed in the men's featherweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich ...

and Peter Odhiambo. The latter three had all entered in the second round via byes due to an uneven number of fighters in their pools. Welterweight David Jackson reached the third round of his division before being eliminated by American Jesse Valdez. Light-flyweight James Odwori started his competition by stopping two opponents in consecutive fights. However, his tournament was ended when he was stopped by eventual silver medallist, North Korean

Kim U-gil Kim U-gil (born 17 October 1949) is a former boxer from North Korea who won the silver medal in the light flyweight division (– 48 kg) at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. In the final he was defeated by Hungary ...

. The final Ugandan boxer, Leo Rwabwogo, defeated Uruguayan

Jorge Acuña Jorge Cristian Acuña Concha (born 31 July 1978 in Ovalle), also known by his nickname Kike Acuña, is a Chilean football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Club career Born in Ovalle, IV Region of Coquimbo, Acuña joi ...

in the first round of the flyweight division. He stopped British fighter

Maurice O'Sullivan Muiris Ó Súilleabháin (; 19 February 1904 – 25 June 1950), anglicised as Maurice O'Sullivan, was an Irish author famous for his Irish-language memoir of growing up on the Great Blasket Island and in Dingle, County Kerry, off the western ...

in the second round before recording a points victory over Thai

Chawalit On-Chim Chawalit On-Chim (born 29 September 1945) is a Thai boxer. He competed in the men's flyweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 19 ...

. Rwabwogo guaranteed himself at least another bronze by stopping Irish fighter

Neil McLaughlin Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

in the quarter-finals, setting up a semi-final bout with Cuban Douglas Rodríguez. Rwabwogo defeated Rodriguez 3–2 on points, to surpass his bronze medal finish at the 1968 Games. In the final, he fought Bulgarian

Georgi Kostadinov Georgi Kostadinov (born 16 January 1950) is a former boxer from Bulgaria. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics. Amateur career Georgi Kostadinov won the Olympic flyweight gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympi ...

who dominated the first two rounds. Despite Rwabwogo mounting a "heavy" counter-offensive during the third round, Kostadinov held out to win the gold, with Rwabwogo claiming silver. Rwabwogo's medal makes him the only Ugandan athlete to have won more than one Olympic medal in the nation's history. He is also only one of three fighters to have won more than one medal at flyweight in Olympic history, alongside Artur Olech of Poland and

Bulat Zhumadilov Bolat Zhumadilov (Болат Жумадилов; born April 22, 1973) is a Kazakh boxer who competed in the Men's Flyweight (– 51 kg) at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the silver medal. Four years earlier at the 1996 Summer Olympics he ...

of Kazakhstan. His silver medal victory tied him with Mukwanga for Uganda's highest placed finish at an Olympic boxing event. ;Men

Field hockey

Uganda entered a team in the field hockey event for the first time at the 1972 Games. The 17-man squad included Elly Kitamireke who was the oldest member of the Ugandan delegation. Aged 41 years and 16 days at the Games, Kitamireke remains the oldest Ugandan athlete to have ever competed at an Olympic Games. For verification, see individual event pages listed here The squad was relatively unknown and started the tournament with three straight defeats before holding Argentina to a goalless draw. In the following game, Uganda played West Germany and caused an upset by holding the eventual gold medal winners to a 1–1 draw. A defeat to Belgium and a draw with Spain meant the side finished bottom of its group. The team did win its final match, a classification match against the side which finished bottom of the other group, Mexico. ;Men

Group A

Source: ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Source:

Classification match

* 15th/16th place Source:

Team roster

The roster for the Uganda field hockey side at the Games was: :* Ajaip Singh Matharu :*

Ajit Singh Ajit Singh may refer to: Politicians and rulers * Ajit Singh (politician) (1939–2021), founder and chief of the Rashtriya Lok Dal party in Uttar Pradesh * Ajit Singh (Bihar politician), Indian politician * Ajit Singh (Assam politician), cabinet m ...

:* Amarjits Sandhu :* Avtar Singh :* Elly Kitamireke :* George Moraes :* Herbert Kajumba :* Isaac Chirwa :* Jagdish Singh Kapoor :* Joseph Kagimu :* Kuldip Singh :*

Malkit Singh Malkit Singh, MBE ( pa, ਮਲਕੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ) (Malkit Singh Boparai; born c. 1963) is an England-based Punjabi bhangra singer. Born in Hussainpur and raised in Nakodar, he moved to Birmingham in 1984. Singh was the first Punjabi singer ...

:* Paul Adiga :* Polycarp Pereira :* Rajinder Sandhu :*

Upkar Singh Kapoor Upkar Singh Kapoor (born 12 September 1937) is a Ugandan field hockey player. He competed in the men's tournament at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly kn ...

:* Willie Lobo

References

External links

Official Olympic ReportsInternational Olympic Committee results database
{{Nations at the 1972 Summer Olympics Nations at the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

1972 in Ugandan sport