A contingent of 26 athletes and four officials has been flagged off by the National council of sports (NCS) to Florida, USA for the 46th World Cross Country Championships due this Saturday.
The team that will be led by two-time winner Jacob Kiplimo leaves in the wee hours of Tuesday as Kiplimo seeks a third straight senior 10km title.
The team has been in residential training in Kapchorwa for over a month.
During the flag-off held on Monday, 5th, 2025, the National Council of Sports General Secretary, Dr. Bernard Patrick Ogwel, praised Uganda Athletics, describing it as a national blessing that has marketed Uganda globally through consistent international success.
“When I travel abroad, people take pictures with me because of you. Athletics has made this country proud and it is the reason why the government has it as a priority sport when it comes to facilitation and funding,” he noted.
“I want to applaud the Uganda athletics for the consistent well-structured program for player development. I have been to a talent identification competition but after two years I can’t trace them. So, I want to challenge other federations to borrow a leaf,” added Ogwel, who reminded the athletes about the government’s good will to prioritise athletes’ welfare.
To deter former national sports heroes from running penniless, Ogwel noted that rewarding athletes has been put in the NCS legal framework with advocacy for a budget already on.
Uganda won one individual medal and four team medals from the last edition in Serbia and the team is ready to perform better.
Jacob Kiplimo who missed the flag off heads to the championships as a proven champion, boasting three gold medals and one silver from previous editions.
Meanwhile, Uganda athletics General Secretary Beatrice Ayikoru will officiate as the technical delegate at the 46th edition of the World Cross country championships.
Appointed by World Athletics, Ayikoru takes up the top most technical position at the championships after many years of being a member of the technical commission for the World cross country championships and world athletics championships.
She will be responsible for overseeing technical preparations and ensuring that competition arrangements comply with the World athletics technical rules and international standards.
