Knee injury fails to dash Akullo’s London dream

Christine Akullo has spent the past one month trudging the corridors of Mulago Hospital. A knee injury has threatened her career and the chance of boarding a plane to London for the 2012 Paralympic Summer Games.

“I have received proper treatment and I am sure I will compete in London and win a gold medal,” said Akullo, one of two athletes set to represent Uganda at the Games for the physically impaired.

At 22, Akullo has had to deal with challenges that come with physical deficiency and at times training with able-bodied athletes. But she has pulled through and is currently the best Paralympic in the country.

Last year, she shocked the continent by winning one of Uganda’s three gold medals at the All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. Akullo leaves for London today alongside David Emongozi, who will take part in the 1500m and 5000m races, where she hopes to write another slice of history.

“This is my first time to participate in the Paralympics and I am sure, I’ll do my best,” Akullo, entered in the 100m T13 race by the technical team, said. “This is a chance to show the world what I am capable of doing.”

The Paralympics start on August 29 and end September 9, weeks after the climax of the Summer Olympics, and the Uganda Paralympics team doctor Innocent Komakech, is hoping against hope that Akullo will be in fine shape. “We were worried about her injury but not anymore. Her ligament was not affected so all should be fine by next month,” Komakech assured as Akullo received a Shs2m sponsorship package from Child Fund International, early this week.

The international agency assists vulnerable children world wide and say they have had a hand in Akullo’s career. “We have been sponsoring Akullo since she was a child,” Simba Machingaidze, the Child Fund national director, said while giving Akullo the package on Monday. “She is a promising girl and we hope she is going to fully participate and bring another medal.”

A very competitive athlete since childhood, the short-sited Akullo will be joining Makerere University in September, upon her return from London, to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Science.

For now, she is focusing on winning a medal and making friends in London.

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About the paralympic games

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games. All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The Paralympics have grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948 to become one of the largest international sport events by the early 21st century.

Paralympians strive for equal treatment with non-disabled Olympic athletes, but there is a large funding gap between Olympic and Paralympic athletes. There are also sports, such as track and field athletics, that are resistant to Paralympians who wish to compete equally with non-disabled athletes, though there have been Paralympians who have participated in the Olympic Games.

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Akullo at a glance

Christine Akullo was born on June 23, 1990 in Aboke, Soroti District to Joseph Ayom and Jennet Rose Agiro. She received her early education at Namatala Primary School in Mbale District (1996-2004). She then joined St.

Francis Secondary School for the Blind, Madera (Tororo) in 2006. She completed her A-level in 2011 and is now in her vacation. She excelled at the 100m, 200m and 400m races in several district championships. In 1998, Akullo became partially blind after suffering from a severe bout of malaria. She joined the national team in 2007.

Her first international race was in 2010 at the Great Lakes championship in Nairobi Kenya, where she won gold in 100m, 200m, and 400m.