According to the current #Olympics registry, 5 Ugandans will compete in the respective marathons (women’s & men’s): Juliet Chekwel, Immaculate Chemutai, Filex Chemonges, @Stephen42k, & Fred Musobo. These outstanding athletes build upon a very long, rich history. #Tokyo2020 1/9 
Racing & runners had a very long history in Buganda. Numerous words & classifications existed by the late 1800s. Glosses included, although were not limited to, omuddusi (one who runs in a race), omudduukirizi (one who runs to rescue), kayungirizi (one who overtakes), 2/9
toloba (to race quickly), vuganya (race or competition), oludduka (running contest), and obuddusi (racing or ability to race). 3/9
There were also dozens of proverbs that drew from running idioms to develop moral commentary: “Bw’ogoba musajja munno—embiro olekamu ezinadda.” “Embiro tezimala musango.” “Gundi yeetala—ng’omufumbo atalina ngabo.” 4/9
Due to Buganda’s rich 19th-century racing culture, it is unsurprising that the winner of UG’s first colonial marathon in 1908 completed his run in 3 hours-3 minutes, only 7 minutes behind the current record! The winner was Kapere (n. 12). At the time he was 23. 5/9
Uganda’s marathon attracted UG’s heads of states, kings, and leading chiefs. 48 runners competed. The 26-mile course was along Old Kampala-Entebbe Road. Here we see some of the designated Catholic runners. 6/9
7/9
Largely unaware of the long history of running in the region, one colonial report stated: “None of the runners had had any special training, and the winners reached the post in excellent condition.” Number 11 crossed the finish line only 15 seconds behind Kapere. 8/9
The 3rd-place runner lagged Kapere by only three minutes. As Kapere crossed the line, he was cheered on by Katikkiro (Prime Minister) Apolo Kaggwa, whom we see to our right in the opening photograph, Kapere’s left. 9/9
***This post is adapted from an early thread (21.4.21).
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