The promise:
President Museveni, at a State House dinner in honour of Stephen Kiprotich who had just won a gold medal in the cross country category at the London Olympics of 2012, promised that a high altitude athletics training centre would be built in Kapchorwa within a year. Training at high altitude, according to scientists, raises one’s respiratory rate and causes instant changes to the way the body works, making training more strenuous. In the end the athlete’s body becomes more enduring.
Amidst the excitement that engulfed the country following Uganda’s second ever gold medal at the Olympics, the first having come 40 years earlier in 1972 when John Akii-Bua won the 400 meter hurdles race at the Munich Olympics, Mr Museveni’s promise seemed apt. It was perhaps even more fitting since it was to be built in Kapchorwa, Kiprotich’s birth place.
Kiprotich had put the absence of such facilities in Uganda in sharp international focus when moments after winning gold he told the Guardian of UK: “In Uganda we need better facilities … I have asked our athletics federation for better facilities and they have been promising them without delivering. That pushed me to Kenya. I spend most of my time training there and visit Uganda to visit my family.”
President Museveni, at a State House dinner in honour of Stephen Kiprotich who had just won a gold medal in the cross country category at the London Olympics of 2012, promised that a high altitude athletics training centre would be built in Kapchorwa within a year. Training at high altitude, according to scientists, raises one’s respiratory rate and causes instant changes to the way the body works, making training more strenuous. In the end the athlete’s body becomes more enduring.
Amidst the excitement that engulfed the country following Uganda’s second ever gold medal at the Olympics, the first having come 40 years earlier in 1972 when John Akii-Bua won the 400 meter hurdles race at the Munich Olympics, Mr Museveni’s promise seemed apt. It was perhaps even more fitting since it was to be built in Kapchorwa, Kiprotich’s birth place.
Kiprotich had put the absence of such facilities in Uganda in sharp international focus when moments after winning gold he told the Guardian of UK: “In Uganda we need better facilities … I have asked our athletics federation for better facilities and they have been promising them without delivering. That pushed me to Kenya. I spend most of my time training there and visit Uganda to visit my family.”
Status:
A contractor for the first phase, COMPLANT Ltd, has been engaged and, according to Sam Odongo Masinde, the assistant commissioner in charge of sports at the Ministry of Education, the site will be handed over to the contractor next month. The handover will then be followed by a ground-breaking ceremony in December, presided over by President Museveni, and then the commencement of actual construction which is expected to start in January 2017. Masinde said the Ministry has the Shs5m which to pay to the contractor as advance payment.
Phase I will involve constructing a complex with a jogging track, a natural grass soccer field, an artificial turf, a perimeter wall fence, two hostels, one for females and another for males, a pump house and site roads. Going by the plan, the construction will take three years (therefore to be ready by 2020 if there are no delays).
With Kiprotich possibly looking at 2020 as the final year for him to take part in the Olympics, there is a high likelihood he will never train in this complex for the Olympics.
A contractor for the first phase, COMPLANT Ltd, has been engaged and, according to Sam Odongo Masinde, the assistant commissioner in charge of sports at the Ministry of Education, the site will be handed over to the contractor next month. The handover will then be followed by a ground-breaking ceremony in December, presided over by President Museveni, and then the commencement of actual construction which is expected to start in January 2017. Masinde said the Ministry has the Shs5m which to pay to the contractor as advance payment.
Phase I will involve constructing a complex with a jogging track, a natural grass soccer field, an artificial turf, a perimeter wall fence, two hostels, one for females and another for males, a pump house and site roads. Going by the plan, the construction will take three years (therefore to be ready by 2020 if there are no delays).
With Kiprotich possibly looking at 2020 as the final year for him to take part in the Olympics, there is a high likelihood he will never train in this complex for the Olympics.
Official explanation.
Daily Monitor sought out the Sports minister Charles Bakkabulindi to understand why the training centre was not in place as promised by the President. He instead referred us to the official in charge of the project, Mr Masinde.
Masinde says prior to commencing actual construction, a number of preliminary activities had to be carried out. Over the past four years, Masinde said, the land on which the centre will be built was surveyed in 2013 and people who occupied or owned the land were compensated to a tune of Shs194m. The designs for the training complex were also drawn, and a school which was on the land was relocated. Water was also connected to the site using the gravity flow system.
Masinde says prior to commencing actual construction, a number of preliminary activities had to be carried out. Over the past four years, Masinde said, the land on which the centre will be built was surveyed in 2013 and people who occupied or owned the land were compensated to a tune of Shs194m. The designs for the training complex were also drawn, and a school which was on the land was relocated. Water was also connected to the site using the gravity flow system.
Impact:
If the training centre had been built following the President’s promised schedule of one year, it would have been in place for Kiprotich and other athletes to train ahead of the Olympics that took place in Rio de Janeiro this year. But Kiprotich still had to go back to Kenya to prepare for the Rio Olympics, largely fending for himself, just like the other Olympians had to find a way to prepare for the same.
Kiprotich perhaps found it easier to prepare than the other Ugandan Olympians. After winning the Olympic and World Athletics Championship medals, Kiprotich received considerable donations to supplement the prize monies, part of which he could have used to finance his preparation while in Kenya. Most other Ugandan Olympians lacked such means and when they finally got to Rio, the government offered them Shs3m as reimbursement for expenses incurred during training. The Olympians we talked to said the money was not enough to cover the four years since the London Olympics, and one of the Olympians we talked to said she had left Rio without picking up the Shs3m.
Whereas lack of preparation may not be the only factor, it was eventually cited as a key factor in Uganda’s failure to pick up a single medal at the Rio Olympics.
At the Rio Olympics in august, Uganda was represented by 21 athletes, including Kiprotich, who failed to defend his gold and ended up in 14th position, six positions behind his counterpart Solomon Mutai. The whole team failed to add to the country’s seven medals that have been won during the 14 editions the country has participated in since the Melbourne Olympics of 1956. The seven medals include two golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
If the training centre had been built following the President’s promised schedule of one year, it would have been in place for Kiprotich and other athletes to train ahead of the Olympics that took place in Rio de Janeiro this year. But Kiprotich still had to go back to Kenya to prepare for the Rio Olympics, largely fending for himself, just like the other Olympians had to find a way to prepare for the same.
Kiprotich perhaps found it easier to prepare than the other Ugandan Olympians. After winning the Olympic and World Athletics Championship medals, Kiprotich received considerable donations to supplement the prize monies, part of which he could have used to finance his preparation while in Kenya. Most other Ugandan Olympians lacked such means and when they finally got to Rio, the government offered them Shs3m as reimbursement for expenses incurred during training. The Olympians we talked to said the money was not enough to cover the four years since the London Olympics, and one of the Olympians we talked to said she had left Rio without picking up the Shs3m.
Whereas lack of preparation may not be the only factor, it was eventually cited as a key factor in Uganda’s failure to pick up a single medal at the Rio Olympics.
At the Rio Olympics in august, Uganda was represented by 21 athletes, including Kiprotich, who failed to defend his gold and ended up in 14th position, six positions behind his counterpart Solomon Mutai. The whole team failed to add to the country’s seven medals that have been won during the 14 editions the country has participated in since the Melbourne Olympics of 1956. The seven medals include two golds, three silvers and two bronzes.
Voices
“If the high altitude training centre had been completed as promised, our preparations for Rio would have been much smoother. We spent Shs 700m on preparing for the Olympics over a three year period, but you will realise it was not enough and our preparations would have been better.
William Blick, Chairman National Olympic Committee
William Blick, Chairman National Olympic Committee
“I haven’t gone there (to the site) for long. But to tell you the truth, I spend a lot of money and time on the road to Kenya and back every week. It is a lot. Imagine the cost of traveling back every weekend. I can’t even tell you how much, but is is a very big inconvenience. The government needs to build the facility and tap the great talent in Sebei.”
Stephen Kiprotich, Athlete
Stephen Kiprotich, Athlete
“We are still patient [for the construction]. The Minister (of Education First Lady Janet Museveni) is still settling in office. We met her in Kampala in early September and the high altitude training centre and the Bukwo road are in government’s plans.”
Jane Frances Kuka, Kapchorwa RDC
Jane Frances Kuka, Kapchorwa RDC
“We have been training from Sebei College (since returning from Olympics) but since students are sitting exams, we cannot access their facilities. You see, we have a big problem. You can never tell when government will fulfill a promise [of building training centre]. But we shall be home [in Kapchorwa] until December then we decide whether to go back to Kenya or ask Sebei College for help. But life in Kenya is very expensive.”
Jackson Kiprop, Athlete
Jackson Kiprop, Athlete
Daily Monitor position
Given what had to be done and the resources required, the construction of the training centre could not have been completed within the one year that the President promised. When the President made the promise to build the centre in one year, there was no architectural plan yet, the cost implications of the project had not been assessed, and the land had not been secured since a total of 37 families still laid claim to the land that would be used.
However four years later, the construction should have been completed had enough attention and resources been given to the project. We therefore urge the government to ensure that this facility is up and running in time to benefit athletes for the next Olympics and other international athletics events.
However four years later, the construction should have been completed had enough attention and resources been given to the project. We therefore urge the government to ensure that this facility is up and running in time to benefit athletes for the next Olympics and other international athletics events.
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