Kathleen Grace Noble

Kathleen Grace Noble (born 20 December 1994[1]) is an Irish-Ugandan rower.[2] She is recognized as the first Ugandan to qualify for rowing at the Olympics in the Women's Single Scull.[3] She is also recognized as having achieved Uganda's best time so far (30.80 seconds) in the 50m butterfly at the FINA World Swimming Championships.[4]

Kathleen Grace Noble
Personal information
Full nameKathleen Grace Noble
Nationality Ireland
 Uganda
Born (1994-12-20) 20 December 1994
Kiwoko Hospital, Nakaseke, Uganda
Sport
SportSwimming, Rowing
Event(s)Freestyle, Butterfly
College teamPrinceton Tigers
ClubUtah Crew

Background and education

Noble was born in Kiwoko Hospital, in the present-day Nakaseke District to Irish parents, Gerry Noble, a doctor, and Moira Noble, a teacher who had come to Uganda as missionaries.[5] Noble attended the then Kabira International School (now Kampala International School) between 1999 and 2004. She later joined the International School of Uganda for secondary in 2004, leaving in 2013. She then joined Princeton University in 2014 and graduated with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.[3][4][6][7]

She obtained Ugandan citizenship in 2022.[8]

Career

Based in Utah, she works as a technician in the Schiffman Lab at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.[3]

Swimming and other sports

Noble initially was a swimmer representing her high school[9] and Uganda with 50M butterfly and 50M freestyle as her specialty.[10] Noble was part of the Ugandan team at the 2012 World Swimming Championship in Istanbul, Turkey.[11] In addition, she played volleyball and represented the International School of Uganda in the ISSEA (International Schools of South and East Africa) competitions between 2009 and 2012.[4]

Rowing and Olympic qualification

After moving to Princeton, Noble got interested in rowing through her room-mate and featured for the Princeton Tigers.[4][12] In preparation for the 2016 World Championships, Noble took a semester off to train with the Ugandan team. She was recruited and trained under William Mwanga with the Maroons Aqua Sports Club, where she learned how to row in a single boat.[4] According to a Ugandan sports website, Kawowo Sports, Noble's maiden rowing championship for Uganda was during the 2016 World Rowing U-23 event held in Rotterdam, Holland.[13][14]

After graduating from university, she moved to Utah, working as a wilderness therapy field instructor working with youth in the desert, teaching survival and communication skills, and resumed training with the Utah Crew under coach Linda Iqbal.[3] She qualified for the 2020 Olympics after winning the 2 km single scull race at the 2019 Africa Rowing Regatta held in Tunisia.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Kathleen Grace Noble". Uganda Olympic Committee | Commonwealth Games Association Uganda. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  2. "Noble aims for long stay in Uganda to promote rowing". observer.ug. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  3. Iqbal, Ahsan (23 October 2019). "Utah rower wins a berth in the 2020 Olympics". Utah Crew. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  4. "Kathleen: From swimming prodigy to mastering oars". Daily Monitor. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. Kabenge, Joseph (27 December 2019). "Kathleen Noble: Uganda's Rower Positive Ahead Of Tokyo 2020". The SportsNation. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  6. Fell, Justin (July 2021). "Ugandan Olympic Rower Kathleen Grace Noble '18 Aims to Inspire". Princeton Alumni Weekly.
  7. Ryan, Larry (23 July 2021). "'Kathleen Noble has given us hope': Uganda joy at history-making Olympic row". Irish Examiner.
  8. "Ugandan Olympic rower Kathleen Grace Noble granted dual citizenship". nilepost.co.ug. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  9. Corry, Phillip (7 October 2007). "International School wins swimming gala". www.newvision.co.ug. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  10. "Swimming – Kathleen Grace Noble (Uganda)". www.the-sports.org. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  11. Corry, Phillip (10 December 2012). "Team Uganda off for 11th Fina World Swimming Championship". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  12. "Kathleen Noble – Women's Rowing – Lightweight". Princeton University Athletics. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  13. Isabirye, David (16 October 2019). "Rowing: Uganda's Kathleen qualifies for Tokyo 2020 Olympics". Kawowo Sports. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  14. "Kathleen NOBLE". worldrowing.com. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  15. "2020 Olympic Preparations: Uganda Hopes To Send Athletes in 5 Disciplines". Uganda Radionetwork. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
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