Biography
Having been raised in a large family, including 43 children, Akii-Bua started his athletic career as a hurdler on the short distance. Coached by British-born athletics coach Malcolm Arnold, he was introduced to the 400 m hurdles. After finishing 4th in the 1970 Commonwealth Games and running the fastest season time in 1971, he was not a big favourite for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, having limited competition experience. Nevertheless he won the final there, running the inside lane, setting a world record time of 47.82 seconds. He missed the 1976 Olympics and a show down with American rival Edwin Moses due to a boycott by African nations including Uganda.
As a police officer, Akii-Bua was promoted by Ugandan president Idi Amin, and given a house, as a reward for his athletic prowess. When the Amin regime was collapsing, he fled to Kenya with his family, fearful that he would be seen as a collaborator; this was more likely because he was a member of the Langi tribe, many of whom were persecuted by Amin, whereas Akii-Bua was cited by Amin as an example of a Langi who was doing well. However, in Kenya he was put into a refugee camp. From there, he was freed by his shoe-manufacturer Puma and lived in Germany working for Puma for 3–4 years before returning to Uganda and becoming a coach.
Akii-Bua died a widower, at the age of 47, survived by 11 of his children. He was given a state funeral.
His nephew is international footballer David Obua.
Read more about this topic: John Akii-Bua
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“A biography is like a handshake down the years, that can become an arm-wrestle.”
—Richard Holmes (b. 1945)
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem.”
—André Maurois (1885–1967)