A 50-year-old Uganda Prisons wardress who finished a 10-kilometre mini-marathon more than 40 minutes behind the winner has been awarded a gold medal for her resilience and commitment to fitness.
Irene Chemusto took part in Wednesday’s mini marathon during the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) 18th edition of the Inter-Force Games in Gulu City simply out of her love for sport, with no expectation of receiving any recognition.
The mother of nine and grandmother of over seven completed the race in 74 minutes, more than twice the time posted by her fellow Uganda Prisons athlete Rispa Cherop, who won the women’s race in 32 minutes.
Chemusto had no idea that her determination to complete the race would earn her a medal.
But on Thursday morning, in her absence, Maj Gen Richard Kareimere, the Joint Staff for Formal Education, Sports and Culture, announced that Chemusto would receive a gold medal in recognition of her resilience.
Kareimere acknowledged that the decision deviated from the usual rules governing the competition but said recognizing Chemusto was intended to encourage people to remain physically active regardless of their age.
“Irene represents a lot. Someone, despite her age and energy, showed a lot of resilience. She soldiered on yesterday during the marathon and it’s a very good example for all of us. Don’t think that because you are of a certain age you cannot exercise,” Kareimere said.
He was speaking during an awards ceremony for participants who excelled in various disciplines at the Inter-Force Games at St Joseph’s College Layibi in Gulu City. The game brought together hundreds of athletes from the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), Uganda Police Force (UPF), Uganda Prisons Service (UPS) and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
In an interview with Uganda Radio Network on Thursday, Chemusto sounded surprised and delighted after being informed about the medal she had received in absentia.
“Tell them I know they have picked interest in me and I have surprised them. I made some of them excited, tell them God bless them and I will do something better. Can you imagine, out of all those who participated, I have been recognised?” Chemusto said.
Chemusto said she had trained for about two months ahead of the marathon but had taken a break to recuperate before the competition. However, her love for sport compelled her to represent her team.
She is not new to long-distance running. Chemusto says she started her athletics career in 1983 and later represented Uganda in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1986.
According to Chemusto, her international appearance in Nairobi opened opportunities for sponsorship and helped her athletics career grow until 2005, when she joined the Uganda Prisons Service.
Chemusto said she intends to remain active in sport despite her age, adding that athletics has enabled her to achieve several milestones, including educating all her children and building a home, alongside supporting herself through her salary.
She encouraged people of her age and older to embrace physical exercise, saying she remains fit because of her commitment to sport.
Kareimere also emphasised the importance of exercise in preventing non-communicable diseases and maintaining physical fitness.
The 18th edition of the Inter-Force Games, being held at St Joseph’s College Layibi in Bardege-Layibi Division, started on August 24 and will climax on September 4.
At Thursday’s awards ceremony, several individuals and teams received gold, silver and bronze medals in different sporting disciplines.
In women’s athletics, Uganda Prisons’ Rispa Cherop won gold, while her teammate Noel Cherut took silver. UPDF’s Keren Cherop received bronze.
In the men’s athletics category, Uganda Police athletes Abel Chebet and Martin Kiprotic won gold and silver respectively, while Samuel Cherop of UWA took bronze.
Kareimere said the main objective of the Inter-Force Games was to build synergy and strengthen unity and cooperation among the different security agencies to promote peace and stability.
“We cannot afford to work in silos. The UPDF, UWA and UPS must at all times work together to build synergy, enhance the unity and cooperation that we already have, and we have achieved this main objective,” he said.
The closing ceremony on Friday is expected to attract officials from the Ministry of Defence, heads of the participating forces, local leaders and members of the community-URN. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
