Bujagali kayakers show might at River Nile regatta

With 40 men and seven women taking part in the River Nile regatta last Friday in Bujagali - Jinja, Uganda Canoe Federation (Ucaf) are convinced they had a successful competition.

The 500m single kayak (K1) sprint doubled as the first qualifier for the Nationals due in August and are according to Ucaf president Robert Lwanga "a pathway" to the World Sprints due August 23-27 in Duisburg, Germany. In a fortnight, the federation will hold the second qualifier in western Uganda at Lake Bunyonyi.

Musa Bangili, 24, showed resilience and endurance to not only top his heat and semifinal but also to win the final with a better time of six minutes, 35 seconds and 25 microseconds.

Bangili, who has been kayaking the Nile for nine years, was pushed all the way in the final by Brian Kasango, who finished just five microseconds behind, in a photo-finish that needed various reviews before the results were declared.

"The finish line is diagonal so we left it to the judges to determine but I think overall, we gave the fans a good show," Bangili said in the aftermath of a competition held in sunny weathers and relatively calm waters even though the experience looked gruelling as the athletes paddled against the tide of the Nile.

They also had to paddle to the starting point from the shores before each race, which was probably a good warm up but also built lactic acid for some like Jonah Haira, who pulled out of the semis even when he was the eighth best qualifier with 6:52.15 from the heats.

The challenger

Kasango, who eased through the second semi with a 6:46.25, left it late in the final and his final surge of pace and power in a bid to catch Bangili left him needing first aid from his colleagues in the end.

"The man was running away with the competition yet I felt I still had the ability to do something. It was not meant to be but I am happy with the strategy. If I had started with pace, I would probably have tired before the finish line," Kasango, 26, with 12 years' experience, said.

Much as this was Ucaf's first event, the locals were no novices at kayaking and the organizers believe these men and women can do better in high grade competitions where the waters are still. They learn the sport from white tourists who flock the Nile during the summer and also buy equipment from them. For example Kasango, a cameraman with Tubing the Nile - a water tourism company, learnt from a Canadian tourist he named Matt and bought the canoe from him at Shs1.3m "as he could not travel back with it."

KAYAK
RIVER NILE REGATTA
Top Three
Musa Bangili - 6:35.25
Brian Kasango - 6:35.30
Coreb Tusubira - 6:40.24