Marcel Otim earned bronze at the November 21-23 Commonwealth Rowing Association Beach Sprints (Crabs) in Bridgetown, Barbados to earn Uganda her first international medal in the sport.
The 16 year old Otim, who was part of team that included Elijah Namunyu and Kathleen Noble and was coached by Batenga Nakisozi, took part in the junior (U-19) men’s solo at the competition that attracted 57 athletes from 14 countries.
First, Otim finished third in the opening time trials (3:12.969) behind Canada’s Oliver Brennan (2:54.226) and Barbados’ Theodore Spieler (3:05.826) to make the semifinals.
Spieler, who would later take silver behind the Canadian in Final A, clocked 3:06.422 to edge Otim (3:15.677) in the second semifinals. That left Otim, who only discovered the sport last year, to take bronze from Final B in 3:21.386.
“This was definitely a huge learning experience,” said Otim, who has had to learn a lot so soon having made his national team debut at the World U-19 Rowing Championships in Lithuania in August.
“Making that switch from flat water to beach rowing has definitely been challenging but also rewarding. My team and all those aroud have made the process of transitioning easier and I want to thank them for making this very enjoyable,” he said.
Noble, Namunyu max it out
Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympian Noble rowed to a quarter final finish in Bridgetown’s women’s solos and mixed doubles – where she combined with Namunyu.
“This is quite different. I enjoyed the running component and the dynamics of getting in and out of the boat, plus navigating the buoys. I loved; the venue – it was fun being on the beach, the people created a positive atmosphere, and the idea of working with the team even during the race because you have to work with your boat handlers.
“However, the boat here is a lot heavier and the conditions are less controlled than in classic rowing. The boat does not really pick up speed for you to get the momentum you get in classic rowing. And navigating the turns will need a lot of practice to get used to,” Noble, who coached Uganda’s team at the East Africa Beach Rowing Sprints Championship in Bunjako, said after getting her own firsthand experience.
Noble was sixth in the women solo’s time trials with a time of 2:59.912 then she clocked 2:57.838 in quarterfinal 4 behind Jersey’s Natacha Searson (2:51.371).
With Namunyu, they finished 8th in the mixed doubles’ time trials (2:45.443). In their quarters, they clocked 2:35.364 to finish behind Australia (2:25.094).
Namunyu individually took part in the men’s solo clocking 2:59.140 to finish 9th in the time trials. He went for the repechage, where he finished in 2:48.792 behind South Africa’s Edward Godfrey (2:37.776).
“I am the kind of person that has a lot of belief in myself and gave this competition my all, but I need to do more.
“I have picked my lessons and I need to build up more. Usually, I go to competitions where I know everyone but this is a world event and I found competitors that I do not know. However, I am sure that if we put more time into training, watching our nutrition, and preparing better, we can beat them,” Namunyu said.
Combinations
Namunyu and Noble combined with South Africa in the team relays – first finishing 10th in the time trials with a time of 8:26.650. Coach Batenga said she got a lot of help from her South African counterpart Sizwe Ndlovu in “boat handling duties, coaching, and motivating the athletes” and Poppy Kearney from England.
In the relay time trial, the South African male rower Ben Godfrey went first and split 2:48.644 in the first leg then handed over to Namunyu and Noble, who went for the second leg as a mixed double splitting 2:40.811 for a cumulative time of 5:29.475. The South African female rower Frances Hill then anchored the relay with a 2:57.175 split to bring the cumulative time to 8:26.650.
In Final E of the relay, Uganda and South Africa (8:56.568) went head to head with a combined team from Scotland and Jersey (8:22.041).
Here, Namunyu went first and split 2:47.304, then handed over to the South Africans Godfrey and Hill for the second leg. The duo’s split 3:08.949 for a cumulative time of 5:56.253 before handing over to Noble, who anchored in a 3:00.315 split for a final time of 8:56.568 for a 10th place finish.