President Yoweri Museveni has congratulated Peruth Chemutai for winning gold in women’s 3000m steeplechase finals at the ongoing Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The President via his twitter handle @KagutaMuseveni, said Chemutai has made her country, Uganda proud.
“I congratulate Peruth Chemutai upon winning gold in the women’s 3000m steeplechase at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and becoming the first Ugandan woman to do so. The country is extremely proud of you. Kongoi!”
Chemutai became the first female Olympic gold medalist for Uganda in a time of 9:01:45 at Olympic Stadium beating Curtney Frerichs of the United States who won silver in 9:04.75 and Hyvin Kiyeng of Kenya secured the bronze in 9:05.39.
“I am feeling great. Today I made it. It is the first time Uganda gets gold medal in 3,000m steeplechase. I am so happy to be an Olympic champion,” said the 22-year-old.
It was a race that threw the rule book out of the window, in terms of how one usually paces themselves for this event.
While Chemutai led at the 1,000m mark, Frerichs made the brave move to break away early and create a sizable gap between herself and the Ugandan runner.
But Chemutai never lost hope. She made her move as the bell rang for the final lap, chasing down Frerichs before crossing the line in a new national record and writing herself into the history books.
“I thought about going in the front of the race, but the American girl (Frerichs) came in front. Wotus 500m remaining, I just decided to go and I went hard until the finish,” said Chemutai in Tokyo.
