1972 Summer Olympics: Munich, Germany

On August 31, 1972; John Akii-Bua, 22 (50.35 seconds), won in the fourth heat of the five first-round 400-meter hurdles heats. Stavros Tziortzis (50.54s), who during the same year had beaten a sickly Akii in second place, in a track competition in Europe, finished second (50.54). Olympic medal hope William (Bill) Koskei of Kenya, who won the silver medal in Uganda in the same event at the Commonwealth of Nations Games in Edinburgh in 1970, had finished disappointingly fourth (50.58) in the second heat of this Round One. Koskei was eliminated from going to the semifinals. The top three finishers from each of the five heats, plus one hurdler with the next best time, advanced to the semifinal round of sixteen hurdlers.

On September 1, 1972, Akii (49.25 seconds) won in the first of two semi-final heats. It is notable that in this series, Akii-Bua was lured into lane 2 to compete against two other high hopes of medals: David Peter Hemery of Great Britain, who was the Olympic champion and world record holder; and Ralph Mann of the United States, who had the world leading time in the intermediate hurdles and was ranked number one in the world at the event. Akii-Bua commendably beat Ralph Vernon Mann (49.53) and Dave Hemery (49.66). Here, Akii-Bua raced with these archrivals for the first time. Akii-Bua’s confidence that he would win was strengthened. The top four finishers in each of the semifinal heats were the finalists. Akii-Bua aimed to break the world record in about one second.

On September 2, 1972, Akii (47.82 seconds), despite being trapped in disadvantageously closed lane 1, won the final in a new Olympic and world record. He became the first man to officially run the race in less than 48 seconds. In a photo finish bout, Ralph Mann (48.51) was second and Dave Hemery (48.52) won bronze. After four decades, Akii still holds the record of 47.82 in Uganda; and this is still one of the best times recorded by an African hurdler. Akii remains the only hurdler to have won an Olympic gold medal in Africa; the only African with an Olympic gold in a track event of less than 800 m.

1976 Summer Olympics: Montreal, Canada

In July 1976 in Montreal, Uganda boycotted the Olympics, along with almost 30 countries, mostly African. The boycott was about the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which did not ban New Zealand from the Olympics after the New Zealand national rugby team toured apartheid South Africa earlier in the year. Akii-Bua had trained hard, that same year he set a personal best and a Ugandan record in the 400 meter dash. He really wanted to defend his Olympic title. The rapidly improving Edwin Moses of the United States had become the main international attraction among intermediate hurdlers. Moses would win gold at these Olympics and break Uganda’s world record. It is also notable that in the third week of June 1976, Akii-Bua’s thigh muscle (left hamstring) was torn. This injury could have reduced his chances to compete or perform well in the 1976 Olympics.

1980 Summer Olympics: Moscow, Soviet Union

At the Olympics, on July 24, 1980 at the Grand Arena in the Lenin Central Stadium Area in Moscow, Akii-Bua, now 30 years old, was placed in the first series of three in Round One of the 400 meters with hurdles. The first four leaders in each series, plus four with the next fastest time would advance to the semifinal round of 16. Akii-Bua (50.87), long after his best, was fifth. After the three heats, the times were tallied and Akii-Bua was able to advance to the semi-finals. In particular, more than sixty countries, including the United States, the majority of which protested the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union, did not compete in Moscow. The competition was significantly reduced.

July 25, 1980; the Ugandan (51.10), who raced in the second of the two semi-final heats, was beaten to seventh place and eliminated from the final stage. The eight hurdles runners with the fastest times were the finalists.

July 31, 1980; Akii-Bua competed in Round One as part of the Uganda 4x400m relay team. Uganda was placed in the second of the three heats. The top two countries in each tie, plus the next two fastest countries, would be the finalists. Uganda (3: 07.0) was fifth and was eliminated from going to the final. This would be the last time Akii would compete in the Olympics.