Paralympic Games: Tofiri Kibuuka, from skier for Uganda to runner for Norway
Tofiri Kibuuka.
© Courtesy of Tofiri Kibuuka
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
3 mins
Tofiri Kibuuka is the first African to compete in the Paralympic Winter Games.
It was in 1976 and 1980 for Uganda.
Then, this visually impaired athlete left cross-country skiing to represent Norway (of which he was the flag bearer in 1996) in running, during the five following Summer Paralympic Games.
With six medals to the key…
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Only two Africans have competed in the Paralympic Winter Games since their first edition in 1976: South African Bruce Warner in 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010, and especially Ugandan Tofiri Kibuuka in 1976 and 1980.
Precursor, Kibuuka is also a special case.
Because this visually impaired athlete then competed in five other Paralympic Games… but in summer and for Norway.
Around the age of 12-13, Tofiri Kibuuka suffered from a degenerative eye disease.
He has never really been able to admire the snow.
But it was no stranger to him when he wrote a page on African sport at the Örnsköldsvik Games (Sweden)
From the heights of Kilimanjaro to the Norwegian tracks
During his years of study in Kenya, he took part in outdoor races on the slopes of the highest mountain in Africa (5,895 meters), in 1969. "
That's how I became one of the first blind people to have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and that I was invited to participate in an international camp for young athletes in Norway
”, explained the person concerned in 2016
to the website of the International Paralympic Committee
(IPC).
In 1972, Tofiri Kibuuka made a crucial stay in northern Europe for the rest of his incredible journey.
“
During this camp, I tried canoeing, kayaking and horseback riding in the summer.
And when winter came, I had my first skiing experience
, he said.
At first, I was trying not to fall.
Norwegians were born with skis on their legs, but it was hard for me.
I had no technique
”.
Two notable first Paralympic Games
Uncomfortable in cross-country skiing, the Ugandan, who settled in Norway, nevertheless persists in this discipline.
"
I wanted to become the first African winter para-athlete
", justifies the man who finished 10th in a 15 km race and 16th in another 10 km, in 1976. In 1980, in Geilo, in his country of adoption, he did a little better with 12th place over 10 km and 11th over 20 km.
“
What I remember most during my first Paralympic winter experience is that it was so cold
,” he says of Örnsköldsvik.
I was very nervous because I wanted to do my best.
The Swedish prince came up to me and the other competitors before the race and wished us luck
”.
He adds: “
I am really proud to have become the first African winter para-athlete.
I was not a good skier, but I was brave.
»
Six medals in running
During the following years, Tofiri Kibuuka concentrated on running, a much more conventional discipline for a Ugandan.
In 1981, the man who became a physiotherapist even began to represent Norway in para-athletics.
With great success.
During the three following Summer Paralympic Games (1984, 1988, 1992), he won six medals – five silver and one bronze – in four different distances: 800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon.
Performances that earned him to be the Norwegian flag bearer at the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta.
“
It was such an honor to carry the Norwegian flag and to become the first black man to do so!
“, he was ecstatic, 20 years later.
In 2020,
interviewed by the BBC
, he summed up proudly: “
I have one foot in Uganda and one foot in Norway.
And a unique story.
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