The trials and tribulations of Javelin in Uganda’s sporting landscape

BY GEORGE KATONGOLE

That javelin does not feature prominently in Uganda’s sporting landscape is a huge surprise for a country with brave warriors and tribes with a natural gift for throwing. Yet perhaps much less of a surprise to the people around the discipline which many describe as the ‘forgotten field sport’.

The most successful javelin thrower Uganda has ever had is the late Justin Arop, who passed away in 1994. The two-time gold medallist at the All Africa Games in 1978 and 1987, also represented Uganda in three consecutive Olympic Games. His record of 75.52 meters set in August 1988 in Germany remains intact 32 years later.
Although many world beaters in other aspects of athletics have risen to the grand stages, no javelin thrower has seemed able to resuscitate the sport from the dead.

The most highly trained coach, Peter Okot Omony has desperately been trying to help javelin.
Omony, who holds a specialist coaching diploma from the University of Gothenburg in Germany has had a hand in the emergence of such stars as Annet Kabasindi, Lucy Aber, Constance Rwabiragye and Maria Mujawa, among others. But he has not solved the problem.
Omony’s theory is this: the best way to develop throwers starts with establishing gyms, acquiring trained coaches and having resilient athletes.

The problem with the theory is that Trinity College Nabbingo which was the bastion of javelin in the past under Emmanuel Kasingye has long abandoned the project while Kampala Boxing Club (KBC) gym at Nakivubo has since vanished. Lugogo Indoor Stadium, the other famous place, has gone to the dogs.
“There are no facilities to develop javelin throwers,” Omony agrees. The real problem is that there are no trained coaches. Hellen Anek, the would be successor of Omony had abandoned sport before she met her death in the bathroom during the Covid-19 lockdown.

This has left the work in the hands of mostly volunteer coaches.
For quite long, Kabasindi’s 51.82m throw in 2004 was the pass mark. Aber made an even bigger impact. The powerfully-built 35-year-old shattered Kabasindi’s record with a mighty 52.88m during the West Nile Championships in Moyo in 2010.
Yet such marks are way below the required qualifying standards to world games like the Olympics which need a throw of 64 metres and more.

Shock
Kabasindi, who was identified during school games by Chris Mugisha in Masindi in 1995 recalls travelling to all international games without a coach.
At the Manchester Commonwealth Games on January 12, 2004, she missed the podium but had set a national record on her own.
“I never had a coach at all. I never had a javelin. I could throw stones to help me with release. Even in Manchester I picked the stones for warm-ups,” she recalls.

Record holder Aber is motivated by her husband, who remains her known coach as well.
Omony, who has a reputation of being tough on players, is currently occupied with work at Ndejje University where he is in charge of three budding throwers. Kabasindi is occupied with work at Kampala International University as lecturer and sports tutor.

As such challenges prevail, the narrow talent base is worrying. When Aber leaves the podium as it is expected soon, Lalam, the Commonwealth Youth Games champion will be left to face Nancy Lakot, Hellen Chemtai, Caroline Aber (also a discus thrower), Victoria Awidi and upstart Winnie Anek, most of whom struggle to throw beyond 50 metres.
Mildred Gamba, a sprinter and Level One licenced coach explains that the circumstances surrounding javelin are overwhelming.
“It was quite a culture shock back then as athletes travelled with a general coach. Most times such coaches would not mind about throwers. In some instances, a chaperone would be assigned female athletes,” Gamba, who participates in discus for fun, says.

Kabasindi has only one javelin thrower at University. Committed to staying in the sport, she inspires youngsters under the Tartan Burner’s Athletics Club (TBAC) during talent search camps. But the process has been cumbersome. Her job requirements have made her stay in Bunga all the time and in order to impart her technical advice, the athletes must be able to come to Kampala.
“I have seen throwers who only need the help of a coach to excel. But I don’t have the means unless they come and stay around the city,” she notes.

Omony says the voluntary nature of athletics coaches is partly to blame. For one to excel as a thrower, they need a lot of patience and dedication while tenaciously working on speed, agility and technique.
According to Omony this would take about four years to train a winning athlete. “But most athletes want quick results that is why they go into track events,” he says.
Gamba also argues that the absence of success stories is haunting javelin.
“Sprinters have the likes of Kamoga (Davis), Akii Bua and Bayigga (Justine) to look to. It is hard to sell a sport to the youngsters without success stories,” Gamba reasons.

High performance centres
According to Uganda Athletics boss Domenic Otucet, when Lalam won a gold medal at the 2019 Africa Junior Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, she was supposed to further her career at the Regional Athletics Track Club in Nairobi, one of the five high performance centres in Africa. The others are in Abuja Nigeria, Cairo Egypt, Dakar Senegal and Johannesburg South Africa.
This promise has not materialised yet even though Omony insists the desirable centres are in South Africa and Egypt.
Until today, Lalam trains on a more ad-hoc basis. Without a coach, she dutifully follows her own training programmes getting a helper during the international outings.

“Of course I am happy there are willing athletes. But the lack of participation at major events cannot make anyone happy,” Omony explains.
Javelin does not get the chances they should have; throwers, male and female, are not appreciated enough, yet in the end they wake up with dreams of a champion.

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