When the 4th African Youth Games in Angola came to an end, Suubi Peyton Mary left the pool as Uganda’s standout swimmer, carrying pride in steady progress, hard lessons learned and a week that tested both body and belief.
“I’ve tried my best and the gala generally has been a good gala,” Suubi said after her final race, a simple summary of a demanding campaign in which she swam five events and set three national records.
Her Games began on December 12 with the taxing 1500m freestyle. Suubi finished fifth in a strong field, stopping the clock at 18:46.08 and rewriting the Ugandan record. It was an early sign of what was to come.
In the 800m freestyle, she again dipped into record territory with a time of 10:00.51. The improvement was small, but important.
“The last time I did it was 10:01 in April, and now I’ve come back with a 10:00. It’s not a big cut, but I’m glad with the performance,” she said.
Suubi’s progress showed just as clearly in the 200m breaststroke. She qualified for the final with a national record of 2:50.23, then returned to lower it further to 2:49.46, finishing fourth overall and narrowly missing a medal.
She also posted a personal best of 2:22.62 in the 200m freestyle and clocked 31.79 in the 50m butterfly, completing a heavy programme that demanded endurance and versatility.
Away from the stopwatch, Suubi was quick to credit the support around the team. “I really want to thank the government for supporting us,” she said.
“We always had transport to the pool and back to the hotel, lunch was provided, and our allowances were ready. That makes a big difference.”
She also thanked coaches, parents, administrators, team officials and the media crew. “They’ve always made sure everything is in place and that we’re okay,” she added.
Uganda’s swim team also drew encouragement from Isaiah Kuc, who recorded personal bests in all his events, including 56.71 in the 100m freestyle and 27.37 in the 50m butterfly, and reached the 200m freestyle final.
As the African Youth Games concluded, Suubi Peyton Mary’s story was about valuing small gains, trusting the process and growing within a team.
