Ugandan rower Kathleen Grace Noble has finished fifth in Heat 1 of the Paris 2024 Olympics Women’s Single Sculls that took place at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium on Saturday, July 27.
Noble, who made history by becoming the first Ugandan to compete in the event finished only above one competitor with a time of 8:08.90, a result that relegates her to the Repechages.
The Ugandan was the first athlete to represent the country at this year’s Olympics.
The race, which commenced at 11:12 AM, saw Australia’s Tara Rigney dominate the heat, finishing first with an impressive time of 7:30.71.
Spain’s Virginia Diaz Rivas secured second place, clocking in at 7:37.30, while South Africa’s Paige Badenhorst took third with a time of 7:39.19.
These three rowers will advance to the quarter-finals.
Iran’s Fatemeh Mojallaltopraghghale finished fourth, posting a time of 8:01.30, followed by Noble at 8:08.90, and Nicaragua’s Evidelia Gonzalez Jarquin at 8:23.25.
As a result, Noble, Mojallaltopraghghale, and Gonzalez have been relegated to the repechages.
Noble will now compete in the third repechage tomorrow Sunday, July 28.
She will race against Alejandra Alonso Alderete of Paraguay, Soaad Alkhuzam of Kuwait, Adriana Sanguineti of Peru, and Majdouline El Allaoui of Morocco.
The race is scheduled to kick off at 10:24 am EAT.
With only the top three from each heat advancing to the quarter-finals, Noble will challenge in the repechage only to secure her position in the rankings.
Despite the setback, her participation marks a significant milestone for Uganda in the rowing events at the Olympic Games.
