Rowing-Ugandan rowing given hope by Noble's Olympic legacy

PARIS : Many of the world's stars at the Paris Games will measure their success by medals, but rower Kathleen Noble is hoping for an Olympic legacy that is both more modest and far-reaching - that rowing will become sustainable in her native Uganda. 

Born to Irish parents in Kiwoko in 1994, the swimmer-turned-rower told Reuters that Friday's women's sculls E final will be the last race of her career before she shifts her focus to starting a family and growing the sport. 

"The first time I was at the Olympics (in Tokyo), the outcome of that was enthusiasm, and I'm hoping the outcome of the second time will be the creation of structures that will allow people to actually take that enthusiasm and do something with it," she said. 

Already well known for her swimming exploits at the FINA World Championships, the 29-year-old recalled how she took up rowing as a student at Princeton University in the U.S.

"That's obviously one of the best facilities in the world, and then I got invited to row with the Uganda national team," she explained in the shade of a parasol at the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Centre. 

"It was kind of dramatic, going from the best facilities in the world to places where we were duct-taping our boats and made to come in every 30 minutes to drain them out and go back out, but I'm so grateful for the time that I did spend back home rowing.

"I would feel quite fraudulent, to be perfectly honest, if I hadn't had that time training back home, getting to know our athletes and getting to know what it's like to grow in that environment."

IMPORTANT PART

Noble parlayed that connection and training into qualifying for the Tokyo and Paris Games, and though she knew she would have little or no chance of making the podium in