ATHLETES from Uganda

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ugandan Athletes of all time. This list of famous Ugandan Athletes is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ugandan Athletes.

1. John Akii-Bua (1949 - 1997)

With an HPI of 59.35, John Akii-Bua is the most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.

John Akii-Bua (3 December 1949 – 20 June 1997) was a Ugandan hurdler and the first Olympic champion from his country Uganda. In 1986, he was a recipient of the Silver Olympic Order.

2. Joshua Cheptegei (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 52.63, Joshua Cheptegei is the 2nd most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 40 different languages.

Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (born 12 September 1996) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is the current world record holder for the 5000 metres and the 10,000 metres, and held the world best time over the 15 kilometres distance. Cheptegei is the reigning Olympic champion in the 10000 m and the reigning three-time World champion in the 10,000 m. Cheptegei also won a gold medal in the 5000 m and 10,000 m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2019 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. At the 2024 Olympic Games, Cheptegei won gold in the 10,000 metres, becoming the Olympic champion and setting a new Olympic record in the process. Cheptegei is the tenth man in history to hold the 5000 m and 10,000 m world records concurrently, both set in 2020.

3. Lee Jun-ho (b. 0)

With an HPI of 48.42, Lee Jun-ho is the 3rd most famous Ugandan Athlete.  Their biography has been translated into 5 different languages.

Lee Jun-ho (born 1990) is a South Korean singer and actor. Lee Jun-ho (Korean: 이준호) may also refer to: Lee Joon-ho (businessman) (born 1964), South Korean businessman Lee Joon-ho (speed skater) (born 1965), South Korean short track speed skater Lee Jun-ho (footballer) (born 1989), South Korean footballer Lee Jun-ho (gymnast) (born 1995), South Korean artistic gymnast

4. Davis Kamoga (b. 1968)

With an HPI of 44.92, Davis Kamoga is the 4th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Davis Kamoga (born July 17, 1968) is a Ugandan athlete competing in 400 m. He won the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1997 he won the first Ugandan medal at the World Championships, a silver medal in the 1997 World Championships in Athens in a personal best time of 44.37 seconds. This is the national record, and ranks him fourth in Africa, behind Innocent Egbunike, Samson Kitur and Charles Gitonga.

5. Stephen Kiprotich (b. 1989)

With an HPI of 44.84, Stephen Kiprotich is the 5th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Stephen Kiprotich ("KIP-roh-tich", born 27 February 1989) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. He is an Olympic marathon champion, having won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Kiprotich also won a gold at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics. After Ethiopia's Gezahegne Abera, he is the second person to follow an Olympic marathon title with a world championship gold medal for the same event. Kiprotich became 2012 Olympic champion with a winning time of 2:08:01 in hot, sunny, and humid conditions. This was the first Olympic medal for Uganda since 1996, the first Olympic gold medal for the country since 1972, and the country's first-ever medal in the marathon. He won the Moscow IAAF Championship marathon on 17 August 2013.

6. Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet (b. 1984)

With an HPI of 43.84, Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet is the 6th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Sylvia Jebiwott Kibet (born 28 March, 1984) is a Kenyan professional long-distance runner. She was the silver medallist in the 5000 metres at the World Championships in Athletics in both 2009 and 2011. She also won medals over the distance at the 2006 African Championships in Athletics, the 2007 All-Africa Games and 2010 Commonwealth Games. She has narrowly missed out on medals at major championships on a number of occasions, having finished fourth at the 2007 World Championships, 2008 Beijing Olympics and twice over 3000 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships (in 2008 and 2010).

7. Jacob Kiplimo (b. 2000)

With an HPI of 42.94, Jacob Kiplimo is the 7th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Jacob Kiplimo (born 14 November 2000) is a Ugandan long-distance runner. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Kiplimo won a bronze medal in the 10,000 m events. Kiplimo won gold medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and he won a silver and gold medal at the 2019 and 2023 World Cross Country Championships, respectively. He was also the winner of the 2020 World Half Marathon, and is the current world record holder in the half marathon, which he set in 2025 with a time of 56:42. At age 15, he represented his country at the 2016 Rio Olympics, becoming the youngest ever Olympian for Uganda. He was the 2017 World Cross Country junior champion. Kiplimo is also the Ugandan record holder for the 3000 metres.

8. Peruth Chemutai (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 39.30, Peruth Chemutai is the 8th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Peruth Chemutai (born July 10, 1999) is a Ugandan steeplechase runner. She won the gold medal in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, becoming the first Ugandan woman ever to win an Olympic medal. She added a silver medal in this event at the 2024 Summer Olympics. Chemutai is the Ugandan record holder for the 3000 m steeplechase and 5 kilometres road race.

9. Halimah Nakaayi (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 36.63, Halimah Nakaayi is the 9th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Halimah Nakaayi (born 16 October 1994) is a Ugandan middle-distance runner who specialises in the 800 metres. She is the 2019 World Champion at the event and won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Nakaayi is the current Ugandan record holder for the 800 m both outdoors and indoors, and also for the 1000 metres. She competed in the 800 m at both the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Olympics, reaching the semi-finals each time.

10. Victor Kiplangat (b. 1999)

With an HPI of 36.58, Victor Kiplangat is the 10th most famous Ugandan Athlete.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Victor Kiplangat (born 10 November 1999) is a Ugandan marathon runner, who became world champion in 2023. He won the World Mountain Running Championships in 2017 as a teenager. In 2022 he won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the men's marathon event, despite taking a wrong turn close to the end of the course. On August 27, 2023 he won the marathon at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.