Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Men's para-athletics | ||
Representing Norway | ||
Paralympic Games | ||
1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York | 800m | |
1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York | 1,500m | |
1984 Stoke Mandeville / New York | 5,000m | |
1988 Seoul | 5,000m | |
1992 Barcelona | Marathon | |
1988 Seoul | 1,500m |
Tofiri Kibuuka (born 1947 in Mukono District, Uganda [1] ) is an Ugandan-born Norwegian athlete. He has participated in both the Winter Paralympic Games, in cross-country skiing (for Uganda) and in the Summer Paralympic Games, in mid- and long-distance running (for Norway). Active from 1976 to 2000, he won five Paralympic silver medals, and one bronze.
He holds the distinction of being the first African to have competed at the Winter Paralympics, and more generally the only athlete from a tropical nation to have done so before 2014. [2] He is also one of only two Africans to have competed at the Winter Games, the other being Bruce Warner of South Africa (1998 to 2010 ). [3]
Kibuuka studied at the Outward Bound School in Kenya. [4]
In 1968, he was one of the first blind people to ascend successfully to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, earning media attention as well as praise from the Ugandan Minister of Labour. Due to this event, he was invited to Norway by an "organisation promoting sports for the disabled". He arrived in Norway in 1972, a year after Idi Amin's rise to power in Uganda. Due to the situation in his country of origin, he was to remain in Norway permanently, but nonetheless competed for Uganda in the 1970s. [4]
Kibuuka made his Paralympic Games début representing Uganda at the inaugural Winter Paralympics in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. He was his country's sole representative, and, as Uganda was the only African country to compete, he was the first African to take part in the Winter Paralympics – eight years before Lamine Guèye of Senegal became the first African to compete at the Winter Olympics. [5] [6]
At the 1976 Games, he competed in two events.
He competed again in 1980, where he was once more the only African competitor. [8] [9] He entered two events:
He did not compete again in the Winter Paralympics. Having obtained Norwegian citizenship, he began to compete for Norway at the Summer Paralympics.
Despite having first moved to Norway due to his potential as a Winter Paralympian, and despite his solid performance for Uganda at the Winter Paralympics, it was as a runner that Kibuuka obtained all his Paralympic medals.
At the 1984 Summer Paralympics in Stoke Mandeville and New York, representing Norway, he entered three events:
In the 1988 Games, he entered only the 1,500 and 5,000m events, winning bronze in the former (in 4:15.94, behind Matthews for gold and fellow Norwegian Terje Loevaas for silver), and silver in the latter (in 16:22.14, once more behind Matthews). [8]
In 1992, he was Norway's flagbearer during the Games' opening ceremony. [4] He entered the same events as in 1988, but finished fifth in the 1,500m (4:25.48) and fourth in the 5,000m (16:24.02). While Matthews remained Paralympic champion, and Loevaas remained on the podium with bronze, Portugal's Paulo de Almeida Coelho finished second to edge Kibuuka off the podium. However, Kibuuka did also enter the marathon for the first time, finishing in 2:51:34 to take silver, behind Italy's Carlo Durante. [8]
From then on, he would compete only in long-distance running. In 1996, he entered the 10,000m (T10 category) as well as the marathon (T10). He finished fourth in the former, in 36:10.58, and sixth in the latter, in 3:05:06. For his final appearance at the Paralympics, in 2000, he entered only the marathon (T11), but injured himself during the race and failed to finish. [8] [4]
The 1976 Summer Paralympics, branded as Torontolympiad – 1976 Olympiad for the Physically Disabled, was the fifth Paralympic Games to be held. They were hosted by Toronto, Ontario, Canada, from 3 to 11 August 1976, marking the first time a Paralympics was held in the Americas and in Canada. The games began three days after the close of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
Several tropical nations have participated in the Winter Olympics despite not having the climate for winter sports. Partly because of that, their entries are a subject of human interest stories during the Games. No tropical nation has ever won a Winter Olympic medal.
Uganda competed at the inaugural Winter Paralympic Games in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
Uganda competed at the 1980 Winter Paralympics in Geilo, Norway.
Uganda has competed at both the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
South Africa made its Winter Paralympic Games début at the 1998 Winter Paralympics in Nagano, Japan. The country entered only one athlete, Bruce Warner, who competed in alpine skiing. He did not win any medals.
Uganda made its Paralympic Games début at the 1972 Summer Paralympics in Heidelberg, West Germany - shortly after Idi Amin's rise to power.
Uganda sent a delegation to compete at the 1976 Summer Paralympics in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The country entered only one athlete, who competed in athletics. He did not win a medal.
France competed at the inaugural Summer Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome. France's six athletes competed in four sports: archery, athletics, dartchery and swimming. All of France's athletes obtained medals in every event they competed in.
David Bruce Warner is a South African alpine skier. He is the only person ever to have represented South Africa at the Winter Paralympic Games, and he is one of only two Africans to have competed at the Games to date.
South Africa competed at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The appearance marked the nation's fourth appearance at a Winter Paralympics since its debut at the 1998 Games; to athlete has won any medals. As with the previous four occasions, the country's only representative at the 2010 Paralympics was alpine skier Bruce Warner. He acted as the flag bearer in the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony. Warner competed in four standing skiing events, but did not place on the medal podiums.
Finland participated in the inaugural Winter Paralympic Games in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The country was represented by 26 athletes. This was the second largest delegation at the Örnsköldsvik Games, behind West Germany's - larger than that of the host country. Finns competed exclusively in cross-country skiing.
The Men's marathon B1 was a marathon event in athletics at the 1992 Summer Paralympics, for totally blind athletes. It was contested by seven athletes from six countries. Among them was defending champion Joerund Gaasemyr, of Norway, who had won the race in 1988 with a world record time of 2:45:48. Also competing was his compatriot Tofiri Kibuuka, who had previously represented his native Uganda at the Winter Paralympics, and had been the first African athlete at the Winter Games.
The Men's marathon T10 was a marathon event in athletics at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, for totally blind athletes. Defending champion Carlo Durante of Italy took part, as did 1992 silver medallist Tofiri Kibuuka of Norway, and 1988 gold medallist Joerund Gaasemyr or Norway, holder of the Paralympic record in 2:45:48. Durante failed to defend his title, and took silver, finishing two and a half minutes behind Japan's Harumi Yanagawa, who had finished sixth four years earlier. The two Norwegians failed to obtain a place on the podium. Of the fourteen starters, eleven reached the finish line.
Switzerland made its Paralympic Games début at the inaugural Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960, and has participated in every edition of the Summer Paralympics. It also took part in the inaugural Winter Paralympics in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, and has competed in every edition of the Winter Games.
Ukraine made its Paralympic Games début at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, with thirty athletes competing in archery, track and field, powerlifting, swimming, and sitting volleyball. Vasyl Lishchynskyy won Ukraine's first Paralympic gold medal, in the shot put, and Ukrainians also won four silver medals and two bronze. Ukrainians had previously participated within the Soviet Union's delegation in 1988, and as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Ukraine, following its independence from the Soviet Union, missed out on the 1994 Winter Games, but made its Winter Paralympics début at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Ukraine has competed at every edition of the Summer and Winter Games since then and have done so with remarkable success.
Following the success of the first ever 1976 Winter Paralympics in Örnsköldsvik four years earlier, Norway was selected to host the Paralympic Games in 1980.
New Zealand sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. The country continued its streak of competing in every Winter Paralympics since 1984. New Zealand's delegation consisted of three competitors in alpine skiing, one of whom, Corey Peters, won a silver medal in the giant slalom. With one silver medal, the country tied for 16th on the medal table for these Paralympics.
Uganda sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the eighth appearance of the country in the Summer Paralympic Games after it debuted forty-four years prior at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics. Athletics track runner David Emong was the sole athlete representing Uganda in Rio de Janeiro. He took part in the men's 400 metres T45–47 competition on 8 September and did not qualify for the finals because he was fifteenth overall. Emong participated in the men's 1500 metres T45–46 event later that day and he took Uganda's first medal in Paralympic competition by coming second in the final.
Madagascar sent a delegation to compete at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. This was the island country's fourth appearance at a Summer Paralympic Games since it made its debut sixteen years prior at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. Sprinter Revelinot Raherinandrasana was the sole athlete to represent the nation in Rio de Janeiro. In his event, the men's 1500 metres T45–T46, he finished tenth and last out of all the finishing athletes with a time of 4 minutes and 38.60 seconds.