No Ugandan Female Athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympic games!
For Peruth Chemutai, she will be hoping to set that record straight when she takes to the field on Wednesday afternoon.
The 22-year old will be in action in the Women’s 3000m Steeplechase final at 2pm (EAT).
This is her second attempt at an Olympic medal after falling short in 2016 where she failed to reach the final.
Chemutai who holds the Uganda national record at the Steeplechase 3000m at 9:07:94, will start in lane two of what should be a very fast field.
Ranked 10th in the world, she will have six runners who are ranked lower than in the race on Wednesday.
Chemutai qualified for the finals thanks to a second place finish in her semi-final heat on Sunday.
Her season best of 9:12:72 ranks 8th among the starting field on Wednesday, further highlight how difficult the task at hand is for her.
Kenya’s Beatrice Chepkoech who holds the World Record (8:44:32) that she set in July 2018, will be favourite to bag Gold.
Kiyeng Hyvin of Kenya, USA’s Emma Coburn, Winfred Yavi (Bahrain) and Germany’s Gesa Krause are expected to compete for the final two podium places.
However for Chemutai, it is a shot at making history that is too good to pass and she will most likely leave her best on the pitch in Tokyo.
Uganda has won nine medals at the Olympic games but all have been won by Men.
In Tokyo so far, only Joshua Chetegei (Silver) and Jacob Kiplimo (Bronze) have won medals for team Uganda qwith both coming in the Men’s 10000m.
