Kathleen Noble: First Ugandan to compete in olympic rowing

Dar es Salaam. Kathleen Noble, an Irish-Ugandan athlete, has advanced to the next round of rowing in the Women's Single Sculls Finals at the Paris Olympics.

Born in Uganda in 1994, Noble holds dual citizenship and has made history as the first rower to represent Uganda at the Olympics.

She was honoured with the title of joint captain for Team Uganda and will carry the Ugandan flag at the closing ceremony alongside co-captain Joshua Cheptegei.

Noble's athletic journey began with swimming, representing Uganda at the World Championships in Turkey at 17.

She later attended Princeton on an international student scholarship, where she took up rowing. By 2016, she was competing for Uganda in the World Under-23 Championships.

Kathleen was born at Kiwoko Hospital in Nakaseke District to Irish parents, Gerry, a doctor, and Moira Noble, a teacher who had come to Uganda as missionaries.

She attended Kabira International School (now Kampala International School) from 1999 to 2004, and then the International School of Uganda for secondary school until 2013.

From learning how to row in boats patched together with duct tape to competing at the world championships in a different sport entirely, Kathleen Noble’s rise to the apex of rowing has certainly been unconventional.

Her journey now sees the 29-year-old set to become a two-time Olympian—Noble represented Uganda at the Tokyo Games—when she competes in Paris.

She is Uganda’s first Olympic rowing participant, as well as the African nation’s first and only White Olympian across any sporting discipline.

A prodigious swimmer in her youth, Noble represented Uganda at the 2012 World Swimming Championships at just 17 years of age.

Then, on a whim during her time as a student at Princeton University, Noble was convinced to try her hand at rowing.

“When I took my first steps into the sport, I had no thoughts or intentions of competing at a high level and certainly couldn’t have imagined that this would be the direction that things would go,” Noble tells CNN Sport.

“To be honest, it is still a bit surreal to be competing on a stage like this.

I don’t think it was until they actually told me that Uganda wanted to send me to the Olympic qualifiers that I really thought, ‘Oh, okay, maybe there’s something here.”

The sport of rowing is still very much in its nascent stages across many parts of Africa, including Uganda.

It was properly introduced to the country back in 2009 when the World Rowing Federation sent out a shipment of donated boats to help grow a sport that carries with it significant financial entry barriers.

It was on these boats that Noble learnt to row skull (individual), as opposed to her time rowing crew (as a team in one boat) at university.

While the idea of training on Lake Victoria, one of Africa’s Great Lakes and the world’s largest tropical lake, might evoke a sense of charm and serenity, preparing to compete at an Olympic level is challenging due to the limited opportunities and investment in rowing within Uganda.

As a result, Noble now trains in Tennessee under the guidance of former US rower James Martinez.

“There is no history of rowing in Uganda. I mean, I’m literally the first person, male or female, to even qualify for the Olympics,” Noble says

“It is still extremely niche, and the community is very small. I probably know every single rower in the country personally.

“Back in 2016, I took eight months off from university to row in Uganda and I’m so grateful that I did because I got to experience first-hand all the struggles that rowers back home go through on a daily basis.

“Not only is there a lack of competition and adequate coaching, but there is a lack of most basic essentials, such as having properly functioning equipment.

“When I was rowing on Lake Victoria, we were still using the boats donated back in 2009.

We would be duct-taping them and trying to get people to patch them up with fibreglass for us.”

Born in Nakaseke, central Uganda, in 1994, Noble is the daughter of Irish missionaries.

“Uganda was a fantastic place to grow up in many ways, whether it be the great weather all year round or the friendly and cheerful nature of the people,” she recalls.

“But as a white, blonde child, I maybe would have had an aversion to going out in public due to the amount of attention I’d have gotten.”

Despite her differences, of which Noble is acutely aware, sport has allowed her to form a deeper connection with her birthplace.

“Even though I have Ugandan citizenship, there is an identity to being Ugandan, which is about coming from one of the local tribes and having land and a history and ancestors going back a long way,” she says.

“I respect that, but at the same time, I did grow up in Uganda.

It’s a place that is important to me and it does mean a lot to me to have people accept me as being Ugandan.

“It’s a huge honour to represent my country.

It’s been the way that I’ve felt the most connection to my identity as a Ugandan.

Growing up there, when people ask you where you’re from, I would say Ireland, even though I was born and grew up there.”

“But I feel like as I’ve gotten deeper into representing and rowing for the country, I have felt more strongly that I am Ugandan.”

Noble’s acceptance by Ugandan sports fans has also been a great source of encouragement.

While she says that she will occasionally receive the odd message on social media criticising her for representing the country, the overwhelming majority of both fan and media messaging has been support and pride for raising the profile of Ugandan rowing.

“You’re always going to have haters and people who want to try to knock you down; that’s kind of to be expected in high-level sports nowadays with social media... but I find it extremely touching that whenever I am met with negativity, a barrage of positivity will follow,” says Noble. “I’m very, very grateful for that.

Unfortunately, Noble will this Friday competitively row for the last time in her 10-year career when she goes for the top spot in the women’s 2000m single sculls Final E of the Paris 2024 Games at the National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.

“I am ready to start a family; I am ready to have a new stage of life.

And so, I also [want to] give other people a chance to compete for Uganda,” Noble told this paper after finishing second in the Semifinal E/F 2 on Monday.

The 29-year-old was born to Irish parents, Gerry and Moira Noble, who came to Uganda as missionaries three decades ago.

They have watched her over three races here in the French capital since Saturday in the first Heats.

But the US-based competitor Noble wants to bow out with pride. “I think it’s going to be a competitive final,” she said.