South Sudan sends biggest ever-contingent to the Uganda Cross Country Championship

Part of the South Sudan team training in Kapchorwa (newvision)

Seven professional athletes from South Sudan, a country’s biggest-ever contingent have arrived to take part in the national cross country championship.

They will compete in different categories in Tororo, a town in Eastern Uganda that is playing host to the much-anticipated event.

The event is scheduled to take place this Saturday with 510 registered athletes tussling it out for the medal brackets finishes in various races.

Team South Sudan heads into Saturday's showpiece armed with a couple of experienced athletes including their national record holders.

They include; Gabriel Mawel Mago, a 20-year-old who specializes in 5km, 3km, and 10km, Abraham Guot Thon, Simon Morris Ayion, and 5000m and 10000m professional Jacob Chol, 18.

Others include a 28-year-old veteran marathoner  Marko Piyin Machol and the skillful Wol Tach Majok Kon.

The South Sudanese will hope that their official trip to Uganda will amount to nothing as Machol, their team captain explained.  

“As team SSD (South Sudan), we are coming here to give our all and each one of us expects nothing less than good performances individually and collectively,” Machol commonly known as Marko told Vision Sports.

Marko advanced: “There is a lot we expect to learn from Ugandan athletes too. This country is a powerhouse in this game as it’s ranked only behind Kenya at the continental level.”

In their quest to learn as much as possible from their Ugandan counterparts ahead of the Championship, the visiting team has pitched camp at Kapchorwa, a hub to so many Ugandan elite long and middle-distance runners.

Team South Sudan set for the championships(newvision)

In the previous editions of the event, less than 4 runners have represented the globe’s youngest country.

The South Sudan team’s decision to participate in Uganda’s National Cross Country Championship has been welcomed by Uganda Athletics Federation’s Vice President, Technical, Benjamin Njia.  

At the end of the day, Njia says solidarity and coexistence are essential in coherent athletics development beyond borders especially in Africa.

“Knowledge sharing and cross-border competitive engagements are key in our aspirations to make athletics better than ever and this decision by the SSD team justifies this much better than ever,” Njia said.