Meet the Dogs: Kirabo Namutebi Puts Uganda's Swimming on the Map

When Kirabo arrived at the Africa World Junior Championships in Tunisia in 2019, she had no idea what to expect. Could she still be the dominant swimmer she had been from a young age?

She would compete in the 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke and 100m freestyle. At 16, she could not only compete with the best junior swimmers in Africa, she even surpassed them in the water.

She became the first Ugandan to ever win a medal at the competition, taking home two gold and one silver medal.

“I didn't know I was the first person from Uganda to do that, but I was impressed,” Namutebi explained. “Usually at these games you hear the South African or Egyptian anthems, so for the East (Africa) it was a big win, not just for me, but for my country and the whole of East Africa.”

And while she was achieving something for all of East Africa, she also took the step to take her swimming career to the next level.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

“It (winning the 2019 African Junior Championships) sparked something in me and made me want to achieve even more,” Namutebi said.

From the time she can remember when she was four years old, Kirabo could always be found in the pool with her younger brother swimming for the local Dolphin Swim Club in her hometown of Kampala, Uganda.

Her family had always been involved in sports. Her mother was a continental table tennis player; her father was a gym teacher in Uganda; and her seven aunts and uncles were also involved in sports in one way or another.

Namutebi learned to swim at a young age with the help of her aunt and won many championships, including being named best swimmer at the Kenyan junior group swimming championships four times in a row.

But it wasn't until 2019 that swimming became her main sporting activity.

“I played four other sports: basketball, soccer, track and field and tennis,” Namutebi said. “So it was just for fun at that point.”

The 13th annual Junior Africa Swimming Championships wasn’t the only event she competed in that year. She also swam for Uganda at the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

At the World Championships, she broke Uganda's national record in the women's 50m freestyle by winning her heat with a time of 26.98 seconds, 0.12 seconds faster than her nearest competitor in the heat.

“The way I performed at those championships in 2019 showed me that I can go further with this (swimming) than in other sports,” Namutebi said.

Her performances at both championships not only attracted her own interest, but also that of the Uganda Swimming Federation in the form of an invitation to the Olympic Games.

“I got an email from the president of our federation, and my brother and I were both confused, but then I got a text from my mom because they let her know too,” Namutebi said. “I was impressed from that moment until I got to the Olympics.”

The Olympic dream became reality for her just two days after she arrived at the Olympic Village in Tokyo, Japan.

Namutebi was asked by the Uganda National Olympic Committee to carry the flag together with his compatriot Shadiri Bwogi during the opening ceremony of the Parade of Nations.

“It was scary, just having millions of people watching me on TV. It was eating at the back of my mind,” Namutebi explained. “But I just knew I had to go out there and be proud of where I come from and who I am. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

She represented her country well at the Olympics by finishing 47th in the 50m freestyle, the third best performance of all time by a Ugandan swimmer at the Olympics.

“It was a big step from the Junior World Championships to the Olympics, but as a 16-year-old I couldn't do everything,” said Namutebi.

Her journey from the world stage eventually took her to the University of Indianapolis, where she quickly set the NCAA Division II all-time record in the 50-yard freestyle. Her time of 22.08 seconds at the 2024 NCAA DII Championships earned her the national crown in the event.

She ultimately became a six-time All-American at the meet, having won the GLVC championship in the 50-meter freestyle a month earlier – her first collegiate meet.

And now in her second season on the UIndy swim team, she has ambitions to dominate as much as she did on the world stage.

“I think my goal of becoming the best athlete I can be is more achievable,” Namutebi explained. “With this team and the facilities that I didn't have in Uganda, I believe I can put my country on the map.”