Throughout a period when African female participation in sports entertainment was at its nascent and prevalently amateur stages, youthful Judith Ayaa grew to become a convincing title among female African track stars in the 1960s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Little is known about the Golden Girl who died a miserable person in 2002 after she was reduced from stardom to a casual worker at a quarry works in Kampala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Standing 5\u2019 9\u2019\u2019, Aya was born on July 15,1952 to her late peasant parents in Kal parish, Koch Goma Sub County in Nwoya district in northern Uganda rose to stardom after representing her country in the East and Central African Athletic Championships and winning a Gold Medal. Despite living in the shadow of John Akii-Bua, her national record would stand for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayaa beats 26 -year -old Collete Besson of France in Mexico City in the Olympic Game though she came back bare handed after she was disqualified.
Though her reign short lived after she got married and became a mother, everyone was astonished in 1968 when Ayaa won gold in the 100 meters sprint, finishing in 11.5 seconds in the East and Central African Athletic Championships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following year 1969, Ayaa cemented and confirmed her formidability by in the same championships winning in the 100 meters (11.8 seconds), the 200 meters (25.0s), and the 400m (53.6s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, in 1970 at the same championships, Judith Ayaa did not slip behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The slim young woman with the”Mercedes-Benz” body again won in the 100m (11.8s), the 200m (24.1s), and the 400m (54.0s). In 1969, based on her best time of 53.6s, Judith Ayaa was ranked amongst the top women 400m runners of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having many appearance in the international games in the 1970s in Canada, Germany among others winning bronzes and bringing pride to Uganda, Ayaa name is only being called by her village mates in her home district Nwoya who demands a national recognition for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although she worked hard, her status as a professional athlete, this did not bring for her fortune for her children. The three children the super hero left behind is walloping in poverty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her daughter Janet Atim (46), Francis Odiya (53), her first child and Mercy Auno (31), her last born all got married at an earlier age since they dropped out of education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her family home is just few meters near Koch Goma Primary where she attended for primary education. he playfield where she used to practice have been named by the locals after her, Ayaa sports Field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The last born of Ayaa\u2019s family, Alfred Opiyo noted that her sister\u2019s sacrifice for the country was in vain since she never received any recognition for her great work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opiya asked the government not to forget her great sister since she gave her best for her country in sports and demands that at least a medal handed to the member of her surviving members of her family in honor.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ayaa drifted away from athletics after 1972, marrying and giving birth to several children in quick succession which ultimately brought an end to her sporting career. She had at least four children, Nancy, Emmanuel, Priscila and Henry. She worked in the Ugandan prison service as a warden during her athletics career and continued the role after retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The economic downturn in Uganda under the regime of\u00a0Idi Amin<\/a>\u00a0pushed Ayaa into poverty and she was forced to beg on the streets of Kampala before earning a living by breaking stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n John Akii-Bua<\/a>, a teammate of Ayaa’s at the 1972 Summer Olympics who won gold in the men’s 400m hurdles, discovered Ayaa’s plight and raised awareness. Donations were made to support her before she died at\u00a0Mulago Hospital<\/a>\u00a0in Kampala in 2002. A nursery school, named the Ayaa Foundation was setup in her hometown to care for orphans and vulnerable children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2014, plans were announced for a statue of Ayaa to be erected in Koch-Goma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Editor:msserwanga@gmail.com<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Throughout a period when African female participation in sports entertainment was at its nascent and prevalently amateur stages, youthful Judith<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[72],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/IMG-20230428-WA0093-2.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15740,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/paala-2025-minister-nabakooba-awarded-for-tireless-commitment-to-protecting-the-land-rights-of-ugandas-citizens\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":0},"title":"USA PAALA 2025: Minister Nabakooba awarded for tireless commitment to protecting the land rights of Uganda citizens","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"October 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Reporter In USA Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba Nalule has been presented with a \u00a0prestigious award from the Pan-African American Leadership Award (PAALA) during a ceremony organized by the African Women in Leadership Organization (AWLO). At the awards gala which was held on October 13 in Houston, Texas, outstanding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ju3.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ju3.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ju3.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ju3.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14234,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/ugandas-minister-nabakooba-assumes-new-african-union-role\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":1},"title":"Uganda\u2019s Minister Nabakooba Assumes New African Union Role","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Our Reporter in Tunis Uganda\u2019s Lands Minister, Judith Nabakooba Nalule , has assumed the chairmanship of the African Union\u2019s Specialised Technical Committee no. 8 (AU-STC No.8) on Public service, Local Government , Urban Development and Decentralisation. The handover ceremony took place in Tunisia\u2019s capital city Tunis , marking a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Africa Urban Development"","block_context":{"text":"Africa Urban Development","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/africa-urban-development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ju.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ju.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ju.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ju.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/ju.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6673,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/ugandas-vanessa-nakate-appointed-unicef-goodwill-ambassador\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":2},"title":"Uganda\u2019s Vanessa Nakate appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 16, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"BY OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel has announced the appointment of 25-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate as a global goodwill ambassador for the organization. Like the proverbial prophets who are not highly regarded in their villages, the locally little-known Nakate is one of the world\u2019s highest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG-20220916-WA0122.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG-20220916-WA0122.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG-20220916-WA0122.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG-20220916-WA0122.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IMG-20220916-WA0122.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6532,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/uganda-elected-first-vice-chair-of-african-union-stc-on-urbanisation-and-public-services\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":3},"title":"UGANDA ELECTED FIRST VICE CHAIR OF AFRICAN UNION STC ON URBANISATION AND PUBLIC SERVICES","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Uganda has been elected the first Vice Chair of the African Union Specialised Technical Committee (STC) on Local governments, Public services, urbanisation and human settlement . The was during the Committee's fourth session sitting in Cairo Egypt this week where Uganda was ably represented by the Minister of Lands ,Housing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Urban Development"","block_context":{"text":"Urban Development","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/urban-development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2841,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/suluhu-hassan-sworn-in-as-tanzanias-first-female-president\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":4},"title":"SULUHU HASSAN SWORN IN AS TANZANIA’S FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"March 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"SULUHU HASSAN has become the first female Tanzanian president and the second in the East African Region .According to Tanzania\u2019s Constitution, Vice President Hassan, 61, who was sworn in on Friday assumed the Presidency for the remainder of the five-year term that the late john Pombe Magufuli began serving last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EAC Regional News"","block_context":{"text":"EAC Regional News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/eac-regional-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hassan.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hassan.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/hassan.jpg 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6171,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/muni-university-vc-prof-christine-dranzoa-laid-to-rest-in-moyo\/","url_meta":{"origin":8904,"position":5},"title":"Muni University VC Prof. Christine Dranzoa laid to rest in Moyo","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"July 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Muni University- Vice Chancellor (VC) Professor Christine Dranzoa has been laid to rest in her mother district Moyo. She was described by many as an icon of the girl child education in the West Nile sub-region. Dranzoa, died last week at Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala where she had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "National News"","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/prof.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-2jC","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8907,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8904\/revisions\/8907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}