Special Olympics Africa > Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs)

Meet Jesi Kapurura

Special Olympics Zimbabwe athlete Joycline (Jesi) Kapurura, 33, is a phenomenal gymnast. Although her first sport was athletics, it wasn’t until coaches spotted her astounding flexibility at age 17 and suggested gymnastics that she really found her calling.

Born in a mission hospital in Mashonaland West, Kapurura’s family moved to the United States when she was 4, so that her father could take advantage of an educational opportunity. Kapurura also benefited; she learned to read and write at a special school in California. The family returned to Zimbabwe when she was 10, and Kapurura enrolled in Saint Catherine’s Special School until she was 17. It was there that her gymnastics career took off. She represented Zimbabwe at the 1991 and 1995 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where she earned four gold medals, three silvers and a bronze. Kapurura also participated in Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Programs (ALPs).

Special Olympics Zimbabwe athlete Jesi Kapurura has been competing in gymnastics since she was 17. [Photo by Tom Woodman]

Since 2002, Kapurura has been an assistant teacher at a crèche for children that need special care. “I love my job. It is the most important thing to me,” she said. “I have lots of close friends at work too.”

Kapurura always wanted to have a job. “I wanted to get away,” she says. This is because in the institutions that she had always been a part of, students were said to be “handicapped.” She is very close to her parents and they constantly support her in all her endeavors. Presently both parents are working as teachers in Zimbabwe.
What has Special Olympics meant to her during her life? “It has been very good to me. I have enjoyed it. It is nice to meet new people.” Pondering the question further, Kapurura’s eyes shine and she smiles. “I’m glad I’m a normal person and Special Olympics helped me realize this,” she concluded.

Meet Delano Beukes

Special Olympics Namibia athlete Delano Beukes’ performance in the five-a-side football competition at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games was the stuff that legends are made of. As captain of a seven member team that looked to be novices compared to experienced teams such as Gibraltar, Portugal and Barbados, Beukes led his charges by sheer example, and his charisma wooed hundreds of fans for the team.

But it was on the field of play that his genius was really exposed. The youth showed true grit, determination and — above all —class as he bobbed, weaved and danced around his opponents on his way to a 12 goal feast in the tournament. His magical feet captivated the multitude of fans that thronged to every game Namibia played. The boy wonder knew it too, and certainly lived up to all the hype. Every time he had the ball, the crowd would hold its collective breath, then gasp, as he cleverly beat his opponents with one tormenting skill after another. Perhaps the biggest draw for the ever-growing number of fans was Beukes’s signature back-somersault celebration at every goal he scored, which delighted the crowds.

And so the stage was set for real life dram,a as the much smaller Namibian team, dented and bruised, made its way to the medal playoffs, owing much to the exploits of one Beukes.

By the medal rounds, the opposition had realized who the adroit players were within the Namibian ranks. In their first playoff game against the larger and more physical team representing Special Olympics Ivory Coast, Beukes was targeted for the most tackles, thus spending much of the game nursing his injuries rather than competing. Beukes' teammates Chisto Nel and Gideon Nanub, who also performed very well throughout the Games, were tackled numerous times and received their fair share of injuries too. Namibia lost the match 4-2 and was left to fight for a bronze medal against a very crafty Special Olympics Venezuela team.

Special Olympics Namibia's Delano Beukes (inset) helped lead his team to victory. Celebrating their shootout win are (left to right) Nel Christo, Beukes, and Gideon Nanub. [Photo by Matt Browne, IRELAND OUT]

The bruising encounter with Ivory Coast took its toll both physically and psychologically on the inexperienced Namibian team, which was shell-shocked in the first half of their final game against Venezuela. The crowd that had thronged to the pitch to see Namibia play could hardly believe their eyes as they watched Venezuela bang five goals against the seemingly helpless African team. With only minutes to play, everyone thought only a miracle could save Namibia from a painful defeat.

The crowd started cheering for the Namibians to get at least one goal. Then, something duddenly happened! The Namibian squad drew strength from deep within them and began to play soccer! In true Hollywood style, up stepped Beukes for a scintillating display of suave skill and determination that intoxicated the crowds. The young man weaved his magic and delivered! Within the five minutes remaining in the game, Beukes lifted the crowds into seventh heaven with a blizzard of goals (and back somersaults) to tie the game at 5 all and send it into overtime.

In true dramatic fashion, the last goal to tie the game at 5 all was a free kick that Beukes had been awarded because of an illegal tackle. He looked to his bench for directions where he was told to slam the ball for a goal. Beukes needed no second invitation; he took a small run-up to the ball, and drilled a thunderous shot that whistled its way through the defensive wall and slammed into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

Fans were delirious with joy and staged a mini-invasion of the pitch in celebration of what they called the “game and goal of the tournament!” It was just as well that there was a pitch invasion to celebrate the goal, because the referee needed some time to rescue the ball that was stuck in the corner of the net ? such was the power of the shot!

Neither team scored another goal during overtime, so the game ended with a dramatic penalty shoot out. In true David and Goliath fashion, Namibia bested Venezuela in the shootout, 5-3, to win the bronze medal, sending team Namibia into a euphoric celebration. The underdogs had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, thanks in large part to Captain Courageous Delano Beukes.

Meet Liinah Bukenya

Special Olympics Uganda swimmer Liinah (pronounced Leenah) Bukenya learned the basics of her sport less than a year ago. She started swimming, like most of us did, by splashing about uncertainly in armbands.

Eleven months later she had improved enough to compete in two aquatic events in this year's Special Olympics World Summer Games.
It was impossible to know we were watching a beginner as the 12-year-old warmed up in the National Aquatic Centre in Dublin yesterday, her beaded braids tucked out of the way under a blue cap as she glided through the water.

And you couldn't tell that a year ago she would have struggled to complete a length of the pool, from the confident start she made in the finals of the 50m backstroke. Leading all the way, she looked far more comfortable than a novice could ever hope for. To her delight she completed the race ahead of her competitors in one minute and three seconds.
Outside, the sun-drenched medal presentation was a moving spectacle in a week full of emotional highs. Her Royal Highness Queen Sylvia Nagginda of Uganda, where the swimmer is from, presented the gold medal to Bukenya with a hug. Nagginda, a patron of the games, knows just how much courage it took for the swimmer, one of the youngest athletes competing in the games, to get to Dublin.

Two months ago Bukenya lost her father when he died suddenly due to high blood pressure. She was told the news at her boarding school in the suburbs of Uganda's capital Kampala, and not surprisingly, the tragedy threw her training into turmoil in the weeks leading up to the games.

"It was a difficult time," said her coach Roger Mukasa. "The incredible thing about Liinah is that she is so competitive, she came back and she kept up her training. In everything she does, running, singing, dancing or swimming she wants to win but even so this win is a big surprise."
The Irish Times tracked her down yesterday because she was helped by this newspaper through the Support an Athlete program. Bukenya has no family with her at the games due to visa problems. But two Irish people who met her while working in Uganda came to Dublin so they could watc

Liinah Bukenya poised for the start of her gold-medal winning performance in the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. [Photo by Dara Mc Donall, IRELAND OUT]

Eoin Wrenn from Co Limerick and Michelle Foudy from County Clare both met Bukenya in the Kampala region when they worked there with orphans. The charity workers said they thought she was "amazing" as Bukenya grinned back at them, explaining in a soft voice how she viewed her chances before the race began.

"I thought maybe I might get a silver but this morning I said to myself that even if I didn't get anything I would be brave," Bukenya said, sitting on the steps surrounded by well-wishers and showing off her gold medal to excited Ugandan delegates.

Assistant head of the Ugandan delegation, Edward Babumba, described her as a girl who is "very cheerful all of the time." In Roscommon last week she delighted residents of the Ugandan host town by serenading a crowd with an impromptu rendition of a Special Olympics song.

"At school she loves singing and sport and can read English better than she can her mother tongue," said Babumba. "I think she was expecting at least a medal but a gold medal was not expected. It's like a miracle when you think of what she has gone through. She is very strong in the heart."

Now her coach is hoping Bukenya will repeat this gold medal-winning performance tomorrow when she competes in the 50m freestyle race. "She is even better at freestyle than she is at backstroke," said Mukasa.

But yesterday the laughing girl was thinking only about the celebrations planned in Wesley College in Dundrum where she is staying during the games.
"I am going to sing and dance and eat," she said, still stroking the glittering prize around her neck. "I am very, very happy."

Editor's note: Bukenya finished in 3rd place in her 50m freestyle race, completing her Special Olympics competition with a gold and a bronze medal.

(© from The Irish Times 25 June 2003. Reprinted with permission, all rights reserved.)