Arguably Africa’s finest powerlifter, Roy Mubiru as qualified for the World Championship to be held in Dallas Texas US on June 3rd 2023.
Mubiru a specialist in three styles, squat, bench press and deadlift came top of another category at the Spring Fling, Peabody, MA event on Saturday.
The Ugandan star competed in the Masters heavyweight class and did Tiber carry, Tire flip, press medley and farmers walk racking 4-points on the night.
“This means a lot to me as a Powerlifter and former boxer, I feel like I am on top of the mountain, it’s a great honor to inspire future generations.” Mubiru said.
In the past, Mubiru won gold at the 2019 World Powerlifting Alliance Championships in Ukraine and the 2021 WPA World Cup International Championships.
Mubiru who has organized several Powerlifting competitions in Kampala Uganda believes with the right infrastructure, Ugandan sports can go a long way to win at the World stage.
“The government should look into the future, we have great athletes in Uganda but sports is underfunded in Uganda.” Mubiru said
Uganda’s Sports budget is a meagre $7million per annum, shared amongst the 51 sports federations.
The 2021 APA World Champion also paid tribute to some of Uganda’s great athletes.
“We may never see a regeneration of stars like John Akii Bua, Phillip Omondi, Stephen Kiprotich, Joshua Cheptegei, Ayub Kalule and others, for us we are getting old and we need successors, we need facilities for the future stars to train, government must avail facilities at regional and District levels and we will win many medals in future”. Mubiru concluded.
Sports facilities have remained a major challenge to Ugandan sportsmen, the High Altitude training center in Teryet has taken donkey years to come to life, Lugogo Indoor stadium require refurbishment while Nelson Mandela Sports Complex is closed for renovation.
Athletes have to dig deep into their pockets to seek better facilities abroad in order to compete at the global events.
