Kenya's Paralympics Silver medallist Samson Ojuka displays his medal at the NTV studios at Nation Centre in Nairobi on September 30, 2024.
You haven’t seen anything yet.
So says para-athletics long jumper Samson Ojuka, the only Kenyan medallist (silver) at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
Ojuka is now out to achieve his longtime dream of graduating with a law degree at the Kenyatta University in December, before embarking on the second phase in his sports career.
Ojuka’s plans to go for the long jump T37 world record next year at the World Para Athletics Championships before targeting victories at the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and 2028 Los Angeles Paralympic Games.
The KU student wants to chase a double, combining long jump and sprint events -- 100m and 200m.
“I really value the silver I won in Paris but getting that law degree will be dear to me because I have waited for that moment for a long time,” said Ojuka, 28, who enrolled for the course in 2018 at Kenyatta University.
Kenya's Paralympics Silver medallist Samson Ojuka during the interview at the NTV studios at Nation Centre in Nairobi on September 30, 2024.
“I had to postpone my studies several times because of travelling to competitions. I could stay away for almost a month and that disrupted my studies,” said Ojuka when he appeared in the NTV’s Monday night SportOn! show hosted by Bernard Ndong and James Wokabi.
Ojuka said that the one person who really wanted him to get the degree more than anything else was his mother, Martha Opiyo.
“She was happy for me but she keeps on reminding me that she will be satisfied when my graduation photo will be placed alongside those of his two siblings and his father on the wall,” said Ojuka.
Ojuka’s brother, Allen Collins, studied at Egerton University, his sister, Yvonne Auma, has a nursing degree from Kenyatta University, while his father Moses is a University of Nairobi alumnus.
Ojuka said that his family was elated after his inspiring performance that saw him become the first Kenyan to win a field event medal at the Paralympics since Mary Nakhumicha’s silver in javelin in 2008 Beijing.
“For the first time my brother Collins believed that I was a serious jumper after I beat the Brazilian Mateus Evangelista Cardoso, who won silver at 2016 Rio Paralympics and gold at the 2017 World Championships,” said Ojuka. “I have never seen him that happy.”
Kenya's Paralympics Silver medallist Samson Ojuka during the interview at the NTV studios at Nation Centre in Nairobi on September 30, 2024.
Ojuka’s fourth jump of 6.20 metres saw him set a new African record in men’s long jump T37 to win the silver medal on September 3 at the Stade de France.
Ojuka went into the championships with a personal best of 5.73m from the World Para Athletics Championships that were held May this year.
Ojuka lost the battle to Brian Lionel from Argentina with a jump of 6.42m, but managed to edge out Brazilian Cardoso for silver on countback after both hit 6.20m.
Ojuka erased the previous African record of 6.05m set by Andrea Dalle Ave from South Africa in 2015 in Johannesburg.
Chinese Shang Guangxu holds the World and Olympic record of 6.77m set during the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games.
Samson Ojuka (right) celebrates with the Kenyan delegation after winning a silver medal in the men's long jump T37 at the Paralympic Games at Stade de France, Paris.
Ojuka said the crowd in Paris, the Kenya National Paralympic Committee (KNPC) president, Ronald Milare, and his coach, Henry Nzungi, inspired and pushed him to victory.
“It’s much more intense and a different atmosphere at the Paralympics. The cheering crowd that is huge compared to events I have attended simply puts the emotions and adrenaline high.
“We had not won any medal and I was the last Kenyan to compete. There was immense pressure but Milare kept on encouraging me to stay focused,” said Ojuka. He, however, confesses that winning a medal came as a surprise.
Ojuka said Nzungi, who is a perfectionist, ensured that he got his technique right. “I only started hitting the board a few days before the event and I was even worried after sustaining an ankle injury a few days before the championships,” said Ojuka.
He realised he had a disability, a deformed right arm, known as Erbs Palsy in medical language after completing his secondary education at Maseno School.
“My family, especially my father played a big role, I never noticed the difference,” said Ojuka.
He decided to pursue para athletics after watching the 2016 Rio Paralympics Games in Rio.
Ojuka reckoned that the ongoing construction of sports facilities should consider para sport.
“The facilities in the country are below par compared to what we encountered in Paris,” said Ojuka, who advocated for equal treatment of the able and para athletes.
Born on April 13, 1996 in Nairobi, Ojuka played football and athletics at Maseno School where the current National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) member, Paul Otula, was the Principal then.
Ojuka guided Maseno School to the Nyanza provincial championships before joining Komarock Football Club in Nairobi upon completing high school.
However, his passion shifted to athletics when he joined Kenyatta University for a degree in law in 2018 with inspiration from the likes of Olympian Boniface Mweresa.
“I used 100m and 200m to train for speed as a football striker in Maseno,” said Ojuka, who cleared Form Four in 2014 before joining Kenyatta University as a law student in 2015.
It didn’t take long before he featured at the World Grand Prix in Tunisia and Morocco in 2019, competing in 100m and 200m and long jump.
Ojuka made his debut at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai where he clocked a personal best 12.39 seconds for a sixth placed finish in 100m and sixth in 200m in 25.19, all in the semis.
Ojuka managed a personal best of 5.58m to finish seventh in long jump during the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. Brian Lionel Impellizzeri from Argentina won in a Championships Record of 6.67m.
At the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, Ojuka settled for sixth, improving his career best to 5.73m, an achievement that earned his a slot in the 2024 Paris Paralympics Games.
