Uganda’s best female rowing athlete Kathleen Grace Noble has clinched a 2nd position in rower game in the Olympics in Paris securing her spot in the upcoming finals scheduled for Friday. This remarkable achievement has put a spotlight on Uganda sports although it comes with a bittersweet tinge as Noble’s retirement announcement on July 29, 2024.
“I am retiring. Friday marks my final race, Iam eager to embark on a new chapter in my life, focusing on my career, i am very happy to Rup up the season and focus on something else,” she stated.
Noble completed the 2000m race in 8:38:70 minutes, following behind the Algerian champion Nihed Benchadli, who secured victory with a time of 8:34:67 minutes, and leading Nicaragua’s Evidelia Jarquin Gonzalez, who crossed the finish line in 8:43:78 minutes.
Who is Kathleen Grace Noble?
Kathleen Grace Noble was born December 20,1994, in Kiwoko Hospital, in the present-day Nakaseke District to Irish parents, Gerry Noble, a doctor, and Moira Noble, a teacher who had come to Uganda as missionaries.
Noble attended the then Kabira International School (now Kampala International School) between 1999 and 2004. She later joined the International School of Uganda for secondary in 2004, leaving in 2013. She then joined Princeton University in 2014 and graduated with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
She has made history as the first Ugandan to qualify for rowing at the Olympics in the Women’s Single Scull. Additionally she is also celebrated as the Uganda’s best Oarswoman having achieved 30.80 seconds in the 50m butterfly at the FINA World Swimming Championships.
Noble is part of College team Princeton Tigers in Princeton, New Jersey where she competes as a butterfly and freestyle swimmer, while being associated with Club Utah Crew. She acquired Ugandan citizenship in 2022.
Currently residing in Utah, she serves as a technician in the Schiff man Lab at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.
Swimming and other sports
Noble excelled as a swimmer representing both her high school and Uganda specializing in the 50M butterfly and 50M freestyle discipline. Noble was part of the Ugandan team at the 2012 World Swimming Championship in Istanbul, Turkey. In addition, she played volleyball and represented the International School of Uganda in the ISSEA (International Schools of South and East Africa) competitions between 2009 and 2012.
Rowing and Olympic qualification
After moving to Princeton, Noble developed interest in rowing through her room-mate and competed for the Princeton Tigers. In preparation for the 2016 World Championships, Noble took a semester off to train with the Ugandan team. She was recruited and trained under William Mwanga with the Maroons Aqua Sports Club, where she learned how to row in a single boat. According to a Ugandan sports website, Kawowo Sports, Noble’s maiden rowing championship for Uganda was during the 2016 World Rowing U-23 event held in Rotterdam, Holland.
After graduating from university, she moved to Utah, working as a wilderness therapy field instructor working with youth in the desert, teaching survival and communication skills, and resumed training with the Utah Crew under Coach Linda Iqbal. Noble qualified for the 2020 Olympics after winning the 2 km single scull race at the 2019 Africa Rowing Regatta held in Tunisia.
Joselyn Nakitto is a staff writer at SML News Ug with passion in health, business and current affairs. She can be contacted on 0709603158
