National rowing coach Batenga Nakisozi described Uganda’s campaign at the 1924 Pharoes Trophy in Oeiras, Portugal last month as valuable.
The event is one of the leading international Beach Sprint rowing regattas and brings together many of the world’s top coastal rowing athletes.
Uganda was represented by Elijah Namunyu in the senior men’s coastal single (CM1x) and Marcel Otim in the junior men’s coastal single (CJM1x).
Namunyu competed against a highly competitive field as he continued his development towards the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. The regatta, where he eventually ranked 44th out of 66 athletes, served as an important benchmark against world-class opposition.
After opening the competition with a time of 2:54.397, Namunyu responded impressively in the second time trial, improving by 8.624 seconds to record a personal best of 2:45.773.
“The performance reflected significant technical adaptation, improved race execution, and growing confidence in challenging Atlantic Ocean conditions,” Nakisozi said as the rower recorded gainful experience in critical elements of beach sprinting like steering, navigation, tidal currents and open-water racing.
Namunyu has since started his preparations for the World Rowing Coastal Championships and the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals both due later this year in Qingdao, China.
Meanwhile, Otim had to immediately reset from Portugal to the August 6-9 World Rowing U-19 Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
But for him, both events are part of his preparations for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games due October 31 – November 13. These will also be about beach sprints.
Otim demonstrated improved boat handling, steering and navigation between his two races, gaining important experience in race execution and coastal boat management.