John Akii-Bua: The Ugandan Olympic Champion
Track and Field Black History
English - April 23, 2021 11:32 - 22 minutes - 21.1 MB - ★★★★★ - 8 ratingsRunning Sports History Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
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In the 1970s, Uganda was under the control of a brutal dictator Idi Amin, who was committing genocide on his own people. Over 300,000 Langi people in Uganda had been killed during his 8 year reign. During that time though, John Akii-Bua had managed to win the 400m Hurdles at the 1972 Olympic Games, becoming the first Ugandan athlete to win an Olympic Gold medal. Because of this, he became a national hero and was rewarded with celebrations and gifts from Idi Amin. Akii-Bua, a Langi himself, would quickly find his celebrity status to be a gift and a curse, soon becoming a refugee from a country that once loved him for his success on the track.
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