By LBS Editorial
PARLIAMENT
Julius Achon Bua, the former barefoot runner, child soldier, and now Otuke East county Member of Parliament has been selected by the World Olympians Association for induction at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics games.
This is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to be held from 23rd July to 8th August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Achon started his career in athletics from Orum primary school in Otuke district in 1989 at 12 years of age before progressing to the National Championship in his last year of high school in 1994; after which Uganda decided to send him to the World Junior Championships in Lisbon, Portugal.
It was in Lisbon that his talent attracted the attention of people Worldwide.
Among them was John Cook who saw Achon run. Cook, then a at George Mason University, immediately saw Achon’s talent and offered him a scholarship. It was only one of 21 scholarship offers to US colleges that Achon received while in Lisbon.
While in Lisbon, Achon became the first Ugandan to win a gold medal at the World Junior Championships, running 1,500m in 3:39.78.
In 1996, Achon was chosen for the Ugandan Olympic Team, and named as the team captain, leading the Ugandan team into the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta.
in 2000, Achon participated in another Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and set a record that was broken after several years.
On the 14th July 2021, the President of World Olympics Association Joël Bouzou OLY said in an invitation to Achon that the edition of the games, they chose an Olympian from each continent to share their experiences with fellow Olympians.
“Julius Achon OLY’s inspirational achievements, since competing at the Olympics in Athletics, show they embody the spirit and practice of Olympians for Life” Bouzou’s letter reads in part.
“I was inspired by stories of John Akii-Bua, the Ugandan 400m hurdler, who won Olympic gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics and was awarded a powerful vehicle, I think I have achieved more than a vehicle from running”, Achon said.
“am honored by this invitation to go as a former olympian, it means people recognized my participation in the Olympic games”, he added.
Achon who spent about 25 years in the United States of America said his passion for sports is not yet lost because he feels he should support the young and emerging talents from children in his constituency.
After returning from the US, Achon says he started organizing sports activities to help him identify talents in children to enable him to promote.
He however noted that some politicians who do not support him politically have always been discouraging talented children from participating in his sporting activities.
The state minister of sports Denis Hamson Obua in a tweet on Thursday evening congratulated Achon for coming as the only African to be recognized.
