Tokyo Olympics: Musagala bids to give it all
In middle-distance running, the focus now moves to Ronald Musagala who will make his Olympic second appearance when he lines-up in the men’s 1500m Round 1 Heats at the National Stadium in the early hours of tomorrow. Photo/ World Athletics
What you need to know:
Musagala is hoping to overcome his body worries to reach Saturday’s 1500m final while Leni will be Uganda’s first sprinter at the Olympics in 13 years
By now, 16 of 25 participants have already represented Uganda at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics which are set to climax on Sunday.
Uganda is also already smiling with 10000m silver and bronze from Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo.
Therein is a veiled dissatisfaction for the gold miss over that 25-lap race final and the exits of Halimah Nakaayi and Winnie Nanyondo in the women’s 800m semifinals also hurt.
In middle-distance running, the focus now moves to Ronald Musagala who will make his Olympic second appearance when he lines-up in the men’s 1500m Round 1 Heats at the National Stadium in the early hours of tomorrow.
Musagala has not had the best season but the man who twice ran the world’s third fastest time - 3:30.58 - in 2019, is optimistic he can make the final due Saturday.
The 28-year-old is however taking it a step at a time. “My plan is to go through to the semifinals,” he said but, “... first you know things are hot here but I am standing strong.”
Temperatures have been high in recent morning athletics at 37 degrees Celsius and the humidity levels have equally been high.
Yet, Musagala’s body has been on and off all season. He suffered a hamstring even if he advanced to finish fourth with a season best of 3:33.99 at the Stockholm Diamond League in Sweden on July 4.
“Ronald is still not 100 per cent fit. Fit enough to run but not in the best shape,” his coach Addy Ruiter said. Recovery has been tough for Musagala but he is still mentally set.
“The body so far, at least I have recovered a bit, just waiting to see the outcomes,” added Musagala, who finished 11th in the final at the Rio 2016 Games.
Three days before Stockholm, Musagala had broken Julius Achon’s 22-year-old mark for a new national record over the mile - 3:53.04 - at the Oslo Diamond League in Norway.
Musagala faces a rather competitive lot that includes exciting Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen and his elder brother Filip, experienced Polish Marcin Lewandowski, world champion Kenyan Timothy Cheruiyot and Olympic title holder American Matthew Centrowitz among others.
Meanwhile, Shida Leni will make her Olympic debut when she lines up in the 400m Round 1 Heats.
She is Uganda’s first sprinter at the Olympics since Justine Bayigga competed in the lap race during the Beijing 2008 Games.
Leni went through the toughest of qualification routes, earning her Olympics slot via ranking by World Athletics after competing on a circuit in Europe.
She will however need to beat her own national record of 51.47 seconds to illuminate her chances of progress.
The most attention for this race will be on Jamaican Stephenie Ann McPherson, Olympic championBahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo and American Allyson Felix who is seeking one more medal to become the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic history.
TOKYO 2020 OLYMPICS: ATHLETICS
UGANDANS IN ACTION - TOMORROW
3:05am: Men’s 1500m Round 1 - Heat 1 (Ronald Musagala)
3:45am: Women’s 400m Round 1 - Heat 1 (Shida Leni)
2pm: Men’s 5000m Round 1 - Heat 1 (Joshua Cheptegei, Jacob Kiplimo & Oscar Chelimo)
MUSAGALA IN 2021
Jul 4: Stockholm DL (1500m 4th, 3:33.99)
Jul 1: Oslo DL (Mile 6th, 3:53.04)
Jun 6: FBK Games Hengelo (1500m 12th, 3:38.69)
May 28: Doha Diamond League (1500m 6th, 3:35.99)
May 8: 7th UAF Trials (800m DNF, Pacesetter)
Apr 24: 6th UAF Trials (1500m 1st, 3:36.63)
MUSAGALA AT A GLANCE
Date of birth: December 16, 1992
Major races: 1500m
Personal Best: 3:30.58 (1500m)
Major Honour: 2018 Africa Senior bronze (1500m)
Manager: Jurrie van der Velden
LENI OVER 400M IN 2021
Mar 27: 1st, 52.7h (Namboole, Uganda)
Apr 11: 4th, 52.77 (Lusaka, Zambia)
Apr 24: 1st, 52.17 (Namboole, Uganda)
May 15: 1st, 53.01 (Wien, Austria)
May 19: 2nd, 53.60 (Pescaia, Italy)
May 22: 4th, 52.62 (Andújar, Spain)
May 30: 2nd, 52.62 (Chania, Greece)
Jun 3: 5th, 52.69 (Huelva, Spain)
Jun 12: 5th, 51.81 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Jun 17: 1st, 51.89 (Nembro, Italy)
LENI AT A GLANCE
Date of birth: May 22, 1994
Main Event: 400m
Personal Best: 51.47
World Champs Appearance: 1st (2019)
Coaches: Kevin & Sue O’Connor
Manager: Jeffrey Freeman
LENI AT MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
2019 World Champs: 6th, Heats (52.22)
2019 African Games: 6th (52.47)
2019 Universaide: 2nd (51.64)
2018 Africa Seniors: 6th (52.78)
2018 Commonwealth Games: 22nd, sf Heats (54.50)
2017 Universaide: 11th, sf Heats (53.44)
2016 Islamic Games: 5th (54.57)
2016 Africa Seniors: 8th (53.91)
2015 African Games: 6th (52.86)
2015 Universaide: 11th, sf Heats (53.40)
2014 Commonwealth Games: 21st, sf Heats (54.30)
