David GOMBE
Two time Olympian Grace Kathleen Noble will retire from high-level competing after Friday’s E Final at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The Ugandan rower came second in the semifinal E/F 2 with a time of 8:38.70, just behind Algeria’s Nihed Benchadlin on Monday and plans to focus on a new chapter after Paris 2024.
Noble confirmed her retirement during an interview with journalist Clive Kyazze on Monday.
https://x.com/CliveKyazze/status/1817873890506690997?t=Vq7NN8drbcraBf9048bdXQ&s=08
“This is it, I am retiring. Friday will be my last race. I want to move on to new phase of life, I want to start a family, focus on my career and I want to hand the tide to somebody else.”
I am so very happy to wrap up this season and move to something else.” Said Noble
Noble who became the first ever Ugandan rower to represent the nation during the Tokyo Games believes focus should not be on qualifying someone but create national and regional championships
“I honestly think that we need to take the focus off trying to qualify for Los Angeles games and put it on creating national and regional championships to create a community that is more vibrant within the country.” Said Noble
Noble’s best time at the Olympic games was 8:08:90 during her first race in heat one as she dropped to the repechage.
Her target at the Paris Games was to reach the quarterfinal stage but missed out an automatic spot as she finished fifth in her Heat with a time of 8:08.90 on Saturday.
She had another chance on Sunday but again fell short with a third place finish in a time of 8:15.10, just a place outside the qualification bracket.
