Ogenrwoti dreaming big ahead of the FISU World University Games

While Uganda is well-known for its distance runners like Joshua Cheptegei, it also has athletes participating in other track and field events like long jump, although without much success.

But the emergency of Churchill Ogenrwot could soon change the landscape for Uganda in the field events.

The Uganda Christian University 23-year-old, Science in Information Technology student is one of the athletes set to represent Uganda at this year’s FISU World University Games in Germany.

Ogenrwoti will compete in the long, triple and high jumps where he could write history for the country having shown tremendous improvement since starting out two years ago.

He currently boasts of a 7.19m and a 14.43m in the long and triple jumps, distances he hopes to improve on at the Lohrheidestadion in Bochum. Apart from gunning for medals to add to his East Africa University Games triple jump silver and long jump bronze which were his first two career medals, Ogenrwoti believes he can also break the national long jump record which currently stands at 7.75m.

“This is what I’m yearning for the rest will fall in place. I have been training for that tirelessly and I think I can achieve it in Germany,” Ogenrwoti said.

With the help of coach Timothy Kabuye, he has been able to improve from 6.71m to 7.19m in just four months and is currently the best at the university in both the long and triple jumps. “But I train a lot without competing in triple jump so I’m looking at Jumping over 15m in Germany and that is my target,”

Although he joined the field events for purposes of securing free university education, Ogenrwoti’s ambitions in the sport are now even bigger than his dreams.

“I was rejected three times before I could join the UCU team. I went back home and started putting in that effort and hit the qualification mark after three months. The qualification distance was 6.62 meters and I was jumping 6.3m when I first attempted joining them.

“I trained tirelessly and the moment I felt like giving up was the time I even got more motivated to aim higher and higher because I thought I could only do this sport to get a scholarship but I’m now building more goals. I’m now scared of my own dreams. I’m looking at the Olympics, the World Championships and I’m looking at becoming a world champion,” Ogenrwoti stated.

Uganda is renowned for its distance runners, such as Joshua Cheptegei, but it also has athletes participating in other track and field events, including the long jump, albeit with limited success. However, the emergence of Churchill Ogenrwoti could soon transform Uganda's landscape in field events. 

The 23-year-old Ogenrwoti, a student studying science in information technology at Uganda Christian University, is set to represent Uganda at this year's FISU World University Games in Germany. He will compete in the long jump, triple jump, and high jump, and he has the potential to make history for the country after showing remarkable improvement in just two years. Ogenrwoti currently boasts personal bests of 7.19 m in the long jump and 14.43 m in the triple jump, which he aims to improve upon at the Lohrheidestadion in Bochum. In addition to his ambition to win medals—having already earned a triple jump silver and a long jump bronze at the East Africa University Games—he aspires to break Uganda's national long jump record of 7.75m. “This is what I’m yearning for; the rest will fall into place. I have been training tirelessly for this, and I believe I can achieve it in Germany,” Ogenrwoti said.

"Under the guidance of coach Timothy Kabuye, Ogenrwoti has improved his long jump from 6.71 m to 7.19 m in just four months and is currently the top athlete at his university in both the long and triple jumps. “I train extensively, even though I haven’t competed much in the triple jump. I’m aiming to jump over 15m in Germany—that's my target,” he added.

Although Ogenrwoti initially joined the field events to secure a free university education, his ambitions in the sport have now grown to surpass his initial expectations. 

“I was rejected three times before I finally joined the UCU team. After each rejection, I returned home and dedicated myself to improving my performance. Within three months, I hit the qualification mark. The required distance was 6.62 meters, but I was only jumping 6.3m when I first tried to join the team. “I trained relentlessly, and whenever I felt like giving up, I found even more motivation to aim higher because I had initially thought I only needed to pursue this sport for a scholarship. Now, I’m setting bigger goals. I’m excited about my dreams; I’m looking at the Olympics and the World Championships, and I want to become a world champion,” Ogenrwoti stated.