Ugandan Rower Kathleen Noble Sets National Record at Olympics Opener

Ugandan rower Kathleen Noble Grace has set a National record in rowing when she placed fifth in heat 2 of the women single sculls this morning in Tokyo, Japan.

Noble opened Uganda’s hunt for medals in the summer games, but fell to rowing stars from Northern Ireland and Mexico respectively. Noble, 26, posted 8:21.85 in the 2000m rowing race which put her in the fifth position in a heat won by world champion Sanita Pupsure from Ireland who posted 7:46:08.

This means that she has missed the automatic qualification to the quarter-finals. According to the format, the first three directly qualify for the quarter-finals.

This was Uganda’s first-ever rowing mark in the Olympic games and Kathleen Nobles’s personal best, which sets the National record. However despite failing to qualify automatically for the quarter-finals, Noble qualified for the Repechage round where she will tussle out for the second chance to grab the quarter-finals.

The Repechage round is one that offers rowers a second chance to qualify for the quarterfinals with rowers who had good times in each heat parade to compete for their last chances.

Noble will lineup in Repechage heat three on Saturday to battle for a quarter-final slot against four other rowers who also missed quarter-final slots in their respective heats, she is placed in lane one against Ayivon Claire, Khogali Esraa, Venega Cancio Milena and Hung Wing Yan Winne.

There are three Repechage heats and the top two boats in each Repechage heat move on to the quarterfinals. Noble will have to use the next chance to qualify for the next round as Repechage goes underway on Saturday tomorrow.  URN