Joshua Cheptegei marked his return to Uganda’s national team at a global championship with a bronze medal in the men’s half marathon.
As the captain of Team Uganda at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, Cheptegei expressed his frustration and addressed the media directly.
Word-for-word from Uganda’s golden boy:
“Athletics has faced a number of challenges. Looking at this team, we entered the World Road Running Championships ill-prepared.
We didn’t have a residential training camp as we usually do. Normally, when we go into a residential camp for two, four, or six weeks, the team adapts to the form, achieves high fitness levels, builds team spirit, and comes out ready to fight.
This time, most of us came straight from our homes and individual training camps. We had no idea what anyone else was doing in their program. As the team captain, these are the immediate challenges I observed.
Moving forward, my one key request to the government is to address underfunding. Athletics is severely underfunded, yet we consistently deliver results. We do not understand why this remains a problem.
We are not given enough attention or adequate funding, even though we do our best and bring home results. I see this lack of support as the primary reason we couldn’t achieve even better results.
There is a saying: ‘To whom much is given, much is expected.’ But what are we being given?
Significant funds are allocated to various federations without seeing proper returns. Why isn’t Uganda Athletics receiving the funding and enhancement it needs so we can continue representing the country on the global stage and bringing home gold medals?
This appeal goes directly to the government, the First Lady, the National Council of Sports (NCS), and all relevant stakeholders. It is deeply concerning, we were making great progress, but now it feels as though we are moving backward again.
We need to step up our game. The sports sub-sector is thriving overall, but we must fix these fundamental issues. Otherwise, our competitors will take advantage, and they will consistently win more gold medals than us.
Look at Kenya, they secured multiple medals, including individual and team gold in the women’s events. The small details are what separate us from them. We need to focus on those details and ask: What incentives and structural support can we provide to truly promote sports in our country?
We also need to look at the welfare of the athletes. What is the take-home for the athlete? These are the individuals dedicating their lives to training. I was telling our team manager that I wasn’t even supposed to compete two weeks ago because I twisted my left foot.
If you ask anyone here, they will tell you about the struggles they faced, even the coaches have their own challenges. Everyone is dealing with different difficulties, yet they pushed through. I was forced to train on painkillers, but I survived, and I thank God for that.
Mr. President, as team captain, it has always been an honor to lead Team Uganda across many successful tournaments; the Commonwealth Games, the World Cross Country Championships, the Olympic Games, the World Championships, and many others. It is always a privilege to lead my colleagues successfully and ensure everyone returns home safely.
With that said, welcome back home, my teammates.”
