University of Indianapolis sophomore Kirabo Namutebi entered collegiate athletics with an experience unlike most other students. She competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Originally from Kampala, Uganda, Namutebi said she has always been in a sports-driven family, mostly thanks to her mother. Along with one sibling, Namutebi estimates they did a total of around 10 sports throughout their childhood. Namutebi said she participated in track, tennis, soccer, basketball and swim. However, after swimming since she was six months old, she said it seemed clear why she wanted to continue swimming after high school.
Namutembi competes in the 50M and 100M freestyle for the UIndy Women’s Swimming & Diving Team, finding success for herself as well. She has multiple awards and records, according to her bio on UIndy Athletics, Namutebi first competed in spring of 2024 for the Great Lakes Valley Conference, winning the 50-m freestyle.
Head Coach of the Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Teams Brent Noble said Namutebi is the best short sprinter in Division II, following her success in the GLVC, along with a NCAA victory and record set in the 50M freestyle. Noble said that her athletic success is impressive, breaking the existing record from a graduate of the program made the previous year as a freshman and breaking her own record this year. However, he said her success does not make her arrogant.
“You would never know the success she’s had by meeting her — very humble, very down to earth and normal,” Noble said. “So she studies hard, she balances her time, she’s pretty easy to get along with.”
However, Namutebi said that attending and competing at UIndy was almost like an accident. After finding herself with a block in motivation to swim anymore, Namutebi got in contact with a recruitment agency later in the year and made the commitment to join UIndy after Noble reached out to her. Namutebi said she is driven by a myriad of things, but utilizing what she has been given is key for her.
“I like to say it’s not exactly where you go but what you do with what you’ve been given,” Namutebi said. “Absolutely, from back home to where I am now is a step up in terms of resources, in terms of general swimming knowledge, in terms of people to train with, so it was just a big step up and it was obviously up to me to use those resources adequately and see that I get the best out of them.”
Noble said Namutebi is very intrinsically motivated and knows that her success is her own. He said she goes above and beyond the bare minimum, it is doing what needs to be done the best way possible.
“She pays attention to what she does,” Noble said. “She knows that the way she does the things that she does is really important. So it’s not just checking boxes, it’s paying attention to detail and doing things really, really well”
Since Namutebi still has a majority of her college career ahead of her, she hopes to enjoy the college experience for now, possibly joining the UIndy Track & Field team if possible. But her main goal with athletics is to be the best athlete she can be to honor those that got her to where she is now.
“My goal is to be the best possible athlete and make the people who have sacrificed a lot for me to get here proud and them to see me succeed at something I really want,” Namutebi said. “So it really drives me to show up to these 5am lifts, to show up to these practices and just do it because I know I’m not doing it for myself — I’m doing it for those that love me and those that push for me to do what I do.”
