His Excellency President Yoweri K Museveni has honoured teams of athletes that participated in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and the Federation of East Africa Secondary School Sports Association (FEASSSA) games in Kigali, Rwanda, with a luncheon at Statehouse Entebbe.
The luncheon that took place yesterday was also graced by the presence of the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataha Museveni.
The president advised the athletes to be much disciplined in order to succeed in sports.
“I met the teams that took part in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, and the Federation of East Africa Secondary School Sports Association (FEASSSA) games in Kigali, Rwanda. I told them that sports must go with discipline and the fear of the Lord, so their future would be bright,” President Museveni shared on his X account.
The president shared that the value of sports is not limited to fitness but also to character.
“The value of sports is not limited to fitness but character building; it trains people about cooperation, since sports need teamwork and entertainment for the spectators. And also importantly, it has become a source of income for sportspeople,” he said.
He also advised the sports leaders to ensure that discipline is properly understood.
The First Lady Janet Museveni thanked the athletes for their performances, stating that she was proud that Uganda performed better than countries like Australia, Greece, China, and Japan, among others.
“I want to welcome you all to this state house luncheon in honour of our patriotic sportsmen and women who have brought us such great pride as a nation. This afternoon, we gather here to extol the names of 20 athletes who represented our country, Uganda, at the world athletics championship in Hungary, as well as the teams from the Federation of East Africa Secondary School Sports Association who represented Uganda at several international games. Uganda was ranked 11 out of the 35 countries that won medals,” the First Lady stated.
The competition that happened from August 19 to 27, 2023, had a Ugandan team of 12 men and 9 women.
Uganda won two gold medals: Joshau Cheptegei won gold in the men’s 10,000 metres, defending his title, and Victor Kiplangant won the marathon, which was Uganda’s first since Steven Kiprotich in Russia in 2013.
President Museveni promised that gold medalists would receive UGX 5 million, silver UGX 3 million, and bronze UGX 1 million.
