An Irish woman who is rowing for Uganda in the Olympics has been named joint captain for her national team at the Paris Games.
Kathleen Noble said she is “overwhelmed” at being asked to co-lead Team Uganda, and is looking forward to carrying the Olympic Flag in the closing ceremony in the Olympic stadium in Paris with co-captain, runner Joshua Cheptegei.
“This is something I will never forget and a massive honour for me and my family,” she said. “I am a proud Irish and Ugandan woman, and this will be so special.”
Kathleen – whose parents moved to Uganda from Ireland 30 years ago - is the only Ugandan rower taking part in this year’s games.
She also participated in rowing for Uganda in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Irish woman Kathleen Noble who is rowing for Uganda in the Paris Olympics and co captaining Team Uganda for the Games arriving in the French capital ahead of the start of the sporting extravaganza this Friday
Uganda is a country of around 45 million people, and has a total of 25 athletes who will compete in front of a global audience estimated to be billions.
Ugandan athlete Joshua Cheptegei is a 5,000m and 10,000m world record holder, and won two medals at the Tokyo games
Kathleen’s parents, Gerry, a doctor and development consultant from Enniskillen and Moira, a teacher from Monaghan, first moved to Uganda in July 1994.
The couple arrived a week before the official opening of the Irish Embassy in Kampala, which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Moira was pregnant with Kathleen when they arrived in the country and the sportswoman is, like the Irish Embassy, marking her 30th birthday this year.
Her parents hope to see her compete in Paris and say they are “overjoyed at this news and so proud”.
“While our family’s roots are in Ireland we have lived in Uganda for three decades and have reared our family there. It is a great honour for Kathleen to have the opportunity to co-lead Team Uganda,”the couple said.
“Watching our daughter compete on the world stage, cheered on by so many in Uganda, Ireland and USA is a testament to the power of sports in building connections across borders and cultures,”they said.
Kathleen Noble will compete for Uganda on the water at Vaires-sur-Marne, 30km to the east of the city, this Saturday.
She has been rigorously preparing in the USA in recent months, coached by James Martinez, a former USA champion sculler.
While she says she doesn’t expect to win a medal, she wants to use the opportunity to advocate for rowing in Uganda, and to promote the sport.
She said she has a vision of creating a high-performance centre in Uganda.
Kathleen has dual citizenship and she and her siblings brother Daniel and sister Lizzie spent months every year as children in Ireland. Her brother is married to a Ugandan and lives in Dublin now.
“When I was in Uganda and when people asked where I was from, I was always from Ireland. But then when I was in Ireland and people asked where I was from, I was from Uganda.” she said.
When she was younger Kathleen was a keen swimmer and represented Uganda at the World Championships in Turkey when she was 17.
She went to Princeton on an international student scholarship and took up rowing. By 2016, she was rowing for Uganda in the World Under-23 Championships.
