Local Torit athlete competes in World Cross Country Championships; Promotes peace through sport

Local Torit athlete competes in World Cross Country Championships; Promotes peace through sport

Local Torit athlete competes in World Cross Country Championships; Promotes peace through sport

4 May 2017

Local Torit athlete competes in World Cross Country Championships; Promotes peace through sport

Leni Kinzli

Government officials in the Imotong State held an honorary celebration for Torit-native, Stella Itongo Nmedeo Ohiri. Stella recently returned from a five day trip to Kampala, Uganda to compete in the World Cross Country Championships.

 

Imotong State Minister of Information, Jacobi Atari, boasted that she is the first girl from the state, in recent history, to participate in an international sporting event. To celebrate the return to her hometown, government officials in Torit held a ceremony in her honor.

 

Hundreds of people gathered at the Torit airport to greet her. The crowd cheered and clapped for Stella and her fellow teammates as they descended from the airplane. She is a source of inspiration for many of the locals in Torit and Imotong State. The atmosphere at her homecoming celebration reflected this sentiment with an energetic buzz sweeping through the crowd. Her participation in the championship sparked a glimmer of hope in many for the future of South Sudan.

 

Organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations, the World Cross Country Championships is the most significant competition in international cross-country running. Stella, just 17-years old, joined the cross-country team representing South Sudan.

 

Stella gained local fame in 2014 for winning several intercounty competitions organized by international NGO’s such as Save the Children. Since then, she has traveled throughout east Africa to participate in regional races, winning medals and garnering attention for her agility.

 

The World Cross Country Championships, which took place on March 26th this year in Kampala, marked her first international competition. She travelled to Uganda alongside a team of 10 other boys and girls who competed against teams from around the globe. The team placed 12th in the inaugural mixed relay race.

 

Government officials encouraged Stella to continue being courageous and set an example for other girls. Minister of Information Jacobi Atari claims the government has plans to organize a tournament in her name to promote athletics for peace and youth development.

 

“The government needs to encourage youth to be active. Sports have the power to achieve peace,” Stella insisted. The United Nations Mission in South Sudan welcomes such efforts and aims to foster peace and youth development through sports in the Eastern Equatoria region. The UNMISS recently supported the organization of a sports tournament in Magwi that brought together hundreds of youth from around the county to play football and volleyball.

 

The UNMISS continues to promote sports activities such as these in local schools throughout Imotong and Kapoeta State in hopes of reaching potential young athletes like Stella. Stella has high hopes for her own future as an athlete and dreams of competing in the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.