Uganda competed at the
1968 Summer Olympics which were held in
Mexico City, Mexico from 12 to 27 October. The 1968 Summer Olympics were Uganda's fourth entry into an Olympic Games. Eleven athletes attended the Games to represent Uganda, eight boxers and three in track and field events.
The nation won its first ever Olympic medals at these Games. Boxers
Leo Rwabwogo and
Eridadi Mukwanga both achieved podium finishes: Rwabwogo winning bronze in the flyweight division and Mukwanga winning silver in the bantamweight division.
Amos Omolo was the most successful track and field athlete. He won both his heat and quarter-final in the men's 400m race before finishing last in the final.
Background
Uganda first took part in an Olympic Games at the
1956 Summer Olympics in
Melbourne, Australia, although it remained a British
protectorate at the time.[2][3] The
Uganda Olympic Committee had been officially recognised by the
International Olympic Committee in January of the same year.[4] The nation became fully independent in October 1962,[5] competing under its own flag for the first time at the
1964 Summer Olympics.[2] The 1968 Summer Olympics were held between 12 and 27 October in
Mexico City, Mexico and featured 5,516 athletes from 112 nations competing in 172 events.[6]
The 1968 Games were Uganda's fourth entry into the Olympic Games.[7] Sprinter
Amos Omolo and boxer
Alex Odhiambo were the only members of Uganda's 11-man delegation who had previously competed at an Olympic Games.[8][9][10] Kenyan-born Omolo had been eliminated in the heats of both of his events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in
Tokyo.[10][11] Odhiambo had been eliminated in the third round of the men's lightweight category at the same Games. He stepped up a weight division to light-welterweight for the 1968 Games.[12]
Uganda entered three athletes in athletics events at the 1968 Summer Olympics.[9] The athletics events were held at the
Estadio Olímpico Universitario.[13]William Dralu competed in the
men's 200m but failed to advance from his heat after finishing sixth with a time of 21.38 seconds.[14]Long-distance runnerMustafa Musa competed in three events, the men's
5000m,
10,000m and
marathon races. The 5,000m was the only event Musa entered that required qualifying. He was eliminated after finishing ninth in his heat. In his remaining events, Musa finished 22nd in the 10,000m before finishing the marathon in 55th place.[15]
The remaining athlete, Amos Omolo, was the oldest competitor in the Ugandan delegation, being aged 31 at the start of the Games.[9] He entered the men's
100m and
400m events. In the 100m, Omolo qualified from his heat after finishing fourth with a personal best time of 10.50 seconds. He improved marginally on his time in the quarter-final with a
wind assisted 10.45 seconds, but did not progress after finishing the race in seventh position. In the 400m, Omolo fared better, placing first in both his heat and his quarter-final race, setting a new personal best in the latter. He also progressed from the semi-finals with a fourth-placed finish before finishing last in the event's final after running the race in 47.61 seconds.[10]
Uganda sent eight boxers to compete at the Games.[9] The boxing event was held at the
Arena México in the
Colonia Doctores district of Mexico City.[16][17]Douglas Ogada,
Matthias Ouma and
Andrew Kajjo, were eliminated after losing their first bouts in the early rounds.[18][19][20]Alex Odhiambo, entering in the second round, won his bout against Spaniard
Mariano Pérez before being eliminated by American
Jim Wallington.[12]David Jackson and
Mohamed Muruli both advanced to the quarter-finals of the light-middleweight and lightweight divisions respectively before suffering defeat.[21][22] Jackson was the youngest member of the Ugandan delegation, being aged 19 at the start of the Games.[9]
The remaining two Ugandan fighters in the quarter-finals, flyweight
Leo Rwabwogo and bantamweight
Eridadi Mukwanga, both won their bouts to reach the semi-finals. Rwabwogo defeated Hungarian
Tibor Badari on points in the quarter-final while Mukvanga defeated Mexican
Roberto Cervantes by the same method.[23][24] By reaching the round, both fighters were guaranteed at least a bronze medal.[25][26] Rwabwogo faced Polish fighter
Artur Olech who had won the silver medal four years earlier in Tokyo.[23][27] Olech defeated the Ugandan 3–2 on points.[23]
In his semi-final bout, Mukwanga defeated South Korean
Chang Kyou-chul, progressing to the final after winning 4–1 on points.[24] In the final he met
Valerian Sokolov from the Soviet Union but suffered a TKO defeat when the referee stopped the fight in the second round.[28] Rwabwogo and Mukwanga won a bronze and silver medal respectively, the first Olympic medals ever won by Uganda.[29]