While everyone threw their weight behind team Uganda to put up a show at the Africa Cross Country Championship, the runners had other plans on their minds. According to a local newspaper Daily Monitor, chaos in camp contributed to Uganda’s dismal display at the Africa Cross-country Championships on Sunday.
Uganda athletes decided to go on strike on the eve of the Sunday event over unpaid allowances. It was not until the intervention of the Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) officials that the strike had to be called off. “The strike could have been avoided but there was no communication from the team management about the allowances,” team captain Moses Kipsiro told monitor.co.ug
The runners wanted to be paid Shs 1.2m for the four days they had spent at the hotel but parted with Shs0.75m. “Good thing, the camp arrears were also cleared on Saturday. But remember some runners have families and didn’t leave them with any money.”
“We also spent on physiotherapists from our pockets which I consider unfair,” he added. Kipsiro who also competed with an injured knee later revealed that the poor feeding at the hotel cost them
“Because most of these guys are not used to good food, they ate beyond their limits after checking into Imperial Hotel. They were eating excessively.” “That’s why most of our runners looked so heavy during the race,” added the double Commonwealth gold medalist.
