Ugandan rower Kathleen Noble has today capped off her illustrious rowing career with a second-place finish in the Repechage Final E at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The race, which began at 11:06 EAT at Vaires-sur-Marne, saw Noble deliver a strong performance, completing the 2000m women’s single sculls in a time of 7:56.10, and marked the final competitive race of Noble’s career.
Nihed Benchadli of Algeria claimed the top spot in the race, clocking in at 7:54.25.
Following Noble were Yariulvis Cobas from Cuba, Saiyidah Aisyah from Singapore, Soaad Alfaqaan from Kuwait, and Evidelia González Jarquin from Nicaragua, who finished third, fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively.
Noble’s performance at the Paris Olympics matched her previous Olympic feat, securing her 26th place overall, similar to her impressive showing at the Tokyo Olympics.
This race served as a fitting conclusion to her career, as Noble had previously announced her intention to retire from the sport.
“This is it, I am retiring. Friday is my last race folks, then I’m out, so stay tuned,” Noble declared in an interview with sports journalist Clive Kyazze on Monday, July 29, following her semifinal repechage.
Her journey at this year’s Olympics began with a fifth-place finish in Heat 1 on Saturday, July 27, followed by a third-place finish in Repechage 3 with a time of 8:15.10 on Sunday.
She then secured her place in the Final E after finishing second in the E/F 2 semifinal with a time of 8:38.78.
In her retirement announcement, Noble expressed a desire to focus on starting a family and pursuing her private career, while also calling for greater investment in developing local and regional rowing competitions.
She emphasised the importance of nurturing a robust rowing community within Uganda, stating, “We need to put our focus on creating national and regional championships to create a community that is more vibrant within the country.”
“Athletes need to have the opportunity to compete locally and be successful locally, regionally, and on the continental level. Otherwise, they’ll just end up at the world championships or the Olympics and come last, and that’s not a very good experience,” she added.
Noble’s rowing career has been marked by significant achievements.
She made her debut for Uganda at the 2016 World Rowing U-23 Championships in Rotterdam, Holland, and went on to represent her country at both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She is celebrated as the first Ugandan to qualify for rowing at the Olympics in the Women’s Single Scull.
Additionally, she holds Uganda’s best time in the 50m butterfly at the FINA World Swimming Championships, with a time of 30.80 seconds.
