John Akii-Bua
| File:Akii-Bua 1972.jpg
John Akii-Bua c. 1972
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 3 December 1949 Abako, Uganda |
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| Died | 20 June 1997 (aged 47) Kampala, Uganda |
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| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (170 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 400 m, 400 m hurdles | ||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 400 m – 45.82 (1976) 400 mH – 47.82 (1972) |
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Medal record
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John Akii-Bua (3 December 1949 – 20 June 1997) was a Ugandan hurdler and the first Olympic champion from his country.
Biography
Akii-Bua was raised in a family of 43 children from one father and his eight wives.[1][2] Akii-Bua started his athletic career as a short-distance hurdler, but failed to qualify for the 1968 Olympics.[2] Coached by British-born athletics coach Malcolm Arnold, he was introduced to the 400 meter hurdles.[3] After finishing fourth in the 1970 Commonwealth Games and running the fastest time of 1971, he was not a big favourite for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, having limited competitive experience. Nevertheless he won the final there, setting a world record time of 47.82 seconds despite running on the inside lane. He missed the 1976 Olympics and a showdown with Unitef States rival Edwin Moses because of the boycott by Uganda and other African nations.[2]
As a police officer, Akii-Bua was promoted by Ugandan president Idi Amin and given a house as a reward for his athletic prowess. When the Amin regime was collapsing, he fled to Kenya with his family, fearful that he would be seen as a collaborator; this was more likely because he was a member of the Langi tribe, many of whom were persecuted by Amin,[4] whereas Akii-Bua was cited by Amin as an example of a Langi who was doing well. However, in Kenya he was put into a refugee camp. From there, he was freed by his shoe-manufacturer Puma and lived in Germany working for Puma for 3–4 years. He represented Uganda once again at the 1980 Summer Olympics.[2] Later he returned to Uganda and became a coach.[5]
Akii-Bua died a widower, at the age of 47, survived by eleven children. He was given a state funeral.[3] His nephew is international footballer David Obua, and his brother Lawrence Ogwang competed in the long jump and triple jump at the 1956 Olympics.[2]
The phrase "akii-buas" has come to colloquially mean "runs" in Uganda.[6]
References
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| Sporting positions | ||
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| Preceded by | Men's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 1972 – 1973 |
Succeeded by Jim Bolding |
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 John Akii-Bua. sports-reference.com
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 IAAF, 5 June 2008: Inzikuru to return to action in Akii Bua CAA Grand Prix
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The John Akii-Bua Story: an African Tragedy, documentary by Dan Gordon, BBC2, 10 August 2008
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with reference errors
- EngvarB from January 2014
- Use dmy dates from January 2014
- Pages with broken file links
- 1949 births
- 1997 deaths
- Ugandan hurdlers
- Commonwealth Games competitors for Uganda
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games
- Olympic athletes of Uganda
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
- Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for Uganda
- Former world record holders in athletics (track and field)
- Olympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Ugandan police officers
