Ogallo turns attention to 2028 Olympics
From left to right: Players Jully Musangi, Milka Akinyi and Faith Ogallo, Kenya Taekwondo Federation chairman Suleiman Sumba, player Mary Muriu, coach Gerald Marangu and Team Manager Martin Malaba take a photo to celebrate Ogallo’s bronze medal in women’s heavyweight in Accra, Ghana on March 17, 2024.
What you need to know:
- The 30-year-old bagged bronze at the ongoing African Games in Ghana on Sunday night and has now set her sights on competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games in the USA
- Her Paris 2024 Olympic Games dream was crushed at the African Championships in Dakar, Senegal last month because of not attending the weighing-in
Olympian Faith Ogallo says she has put behind the disappointment of failing to qualify for this year's Paris Olympics and is not done yet playing taekwondo.
The 30-year-old bagged bronze at the ongoing African Games in Ghana on Sunday night and has now set her sights on competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games in the USA.
“I am not done yet, until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” says Ogallo.
Her Paris 2024 Olympic Games dream was crushed at the African Championships in Dakar, Senegal last month because of not attending the weighing-in.
In Accra, the Kibabii University alumnus opened the African Games with a win after defeating Carlota Manuel Munave from Swaziland on 12 points in the two rounds of the heavyweight (+73 Kg) category at the Ga-Mashie Hall on Sunday.
Ogallo met Ezzahra Fatima Aboufaras from Morocco in the semi-final. In the first round, Ogallo and Fatima drew 5-5 points, but the Moroccan was given the round because of superior technique. In the second round, Ogallo lost 7-2 against Fatima to settle for bronze.
It was Kenya’s sixth medal at the 13th African Games after weightlifters Esther Kavesa and Juliana Ongonga also won bronze last week.
“I am happy with what I have achieved as an athlete. Being on the podium is to have more energy to champion sports for climate change action,” noted Ogallo.
Having so much experience and achievement, Ogallo hopes that through the Ministry of Sports, Youth Affairs, and Creative Economy, the government can also absorb her in either the National Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces, or the Kenya Prisons Service.
“I’d like to be part of development and sustainability in sports. I am currently unemployed and it has been tough to manage my training sessions due to lack of funding,” added Ogallo.
She asked her fans to help in championing climate change actions through the Sports for Climate Action by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which seeks to halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2040.
“If we all unite, I believe we will achieve this goal,” explained Ogallo, who has been a volunteer at the Greening Kenya initiative Trust Under climate change unit since 2019.
In the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco, Ogallo clinched silver after losing to Fatima in the final.
