Taking Turns
Derrick Mwanje of Uganda is a 27-year-old self-trained Crossfit athlete whose ultimate dream is to represent his country on the global stage while he offers free training to a few other interested athletes.
He managed to secure space at a local 5-aside arena pitch in Buwate, a suburb in Kampala about 9km from the city where he trains together with his friends to train for the global competition each year with the aid of online CrossFit coaches at a fee while taking turns with the equipment
In the absence of adequate state-funded sports resources and infrastructure, Derrick's journey so far represents the sort of self-starter mentality many Ugandans (and others across the continent) have adopted to overcome obstacles.
Over the last couple of months, I have followed Derrick as he qualified for the World Crossfit quarterfinals. His efforts paid off when he ranked 1/9 in Uganda, 218/4,288 in Africa
CrossFit games are global annual competitions that began in 2007, they include standard workouts like gymnastics and weightlifting.