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Kakungulu Memorial commits more support to power sports
Dan Tumukunde is making a mark. PHOTO/ABDUL-NASSER SSEMUGABI
What you need to know:
Shabra Mutesi, a Senior Six student at Kakungulu, was the first to mine gold after winning the Junior Women’s 59kg snatch contest with the best lift of 67kg at the 2023 African Youth & Junior Championship in Cairo, Egypt on October 27.
After reaping 10 medals and a trophy from just one international event, Kakungulu Memorial School in Kibuli, the home of the national weightlifting camp, has pledged more support to the sport.
Shabra Mutesi, a Senior Six student at Kakungulu, was the first to mine gold after winning the Junior Women’s 59kg snatch contest with the best lift of 67kg at the 2023 African Youth & Junior Championship in Cairo, Egypt on October 27.
In clean & jerk her best lift was 77kg, finishing second and second with a total of 144kg, earning two more silver medals. Cameroon’s Jacquette Ndolo took gold with 146kg, while Algeria’s Ahlem Rassani took bronze with 131kg.
Four days later, Mutesi’s colleague Dan Tumukunde swept three gold medals in the +102kg Youths category, with a total of 220kg.
In the Junior Men’s +109 category, his results ranked second against those of Libya’s Nasruldeen Almalki who totaled 246kg for three gold medals. Tumukunde settled for three silver medals. Another silver medal and a trophy were for helping Uganda to third place in his categories.
Led by national coach Kassim Nsubuga, who had stayed in Cairo for a refresher trainers’ course, the team presented all the silverware to Kakungulu Memorial headmaster Jamil Buwembo on Monday.
“As a school, we have just introduced weightlifting. But winning all these medals is a big challenge to us, the federation and the nation. Because these medals and trophies are not ours as a school, they are for Uganda. That means we need to double our efforts to help these athletes get better training and competitions to exhaust their potential,” said
Buwembo, whose administration has made Kakungulu one of the sporting giants in Uganda, rubbing shoulders with neighbours Kibuli SS in football, hockey, handball, and badminton, among others.
Coach Nsubuga commended Buwembo for the unwavering support, especially the first indoor gym for the national team. He also mooted the idea of introducing powerlifting, with support from a Canada-based Ugandan.
“As a school this is just the beginning. We need to see athletes’ talents grow further. And our door is still open for students talented in different sports. We are ready to introduce new sports like the coach has requested.”
After the victory meeting, 2023 African champion Davis Niyoyita, another Kakungulu student, and Lydia Nakidde resumed training for the Grand Prix in Qatar in December. But Mutesi will miss the World Youth Championships in Mexico next week when she begins her final A’ Level exams.
Mutesi
Category: Junior Women’s 59kg
Honours: 1 gold, 2 silver
Tumukunde
Category: Youth Men’s +102kg
Honours: 3 gold
Category: Junior Men’s +109kg
Honours: 4 silver
Club: Kisugu Unified Gym
