Education
George Mason University.
George Mason University.
Achon currently holds the 800m American Collegiate Record with a time of 1:44.55 set in 1996 as a student at George Mason University. He competed in both the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics. When he was 12, Achon was abducted by the Lord"s Resistance Army, which was waging a civil war, and taken to a camp 100 miles away.
To get to the stadium 42 miles away, Achon had to run for six hours.
He offered Achon a scholarship to an elite government-aided school in Kampala, which Achon took up. In 2003, John Cook, who coached Achon at George Mason, offered him a post as assistant coach with Alberto Salazar"s Nike Oregon Project, pacing elite runners such as Galen Rupp, who competed at the Beijing Olympics.
In 2010, budget cuts at Nike meant Achon lost his job but he began working part-time at the Nike store on campus instead. Achon started providing for children orphaned by the civil war in Uganda in 2003 when he discovered 11 orphans sheltering under a business
lieutenant only required $100 per month to feed them all.
In 2007, Achon met Jim Fee in Portland, Oregon, and the charity was founded with Fee as an unpaid advisor. The purpose of the organisation is to improve access to health care, clean water and education. Fee and Achon began fundraising to build a clinic in Awake to treat malaria.
The Kristina Health Centre (KHC), named after his mother, opened in August 2012 and employs 12 staff
Achon intends to buy an ambulance and extend the maternity ward. The next project for which Achon wishes to raise money is to build a school.
As of October 2012, the foundation is providing for 40 orphans, including some girls, to attend school, by paying for their tuition, school materials, food and other necessities.
At the 1994 World Junior Championships, Achon became the first Ugandan to win gold, running the 1500m in 3:39.78. Victory was followed by offers of scholarships from a number of United States colleges and he chose George Mason University. In 1996 he won the 800m National Collegiate Athletic Association title, setting a new United States college record of 1:44.55. Later in the year, he ran in the heats of the 1500m at the Atlanta Olympics. Achon went on to compete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where he reached the semifinal of the 1500m but did not participate in the Athens Games after his mother was killed by the LRA. A car crash in May 2007 put an end to his running career. He had been intending to run the 5000m at the Ugandan National Athletics Championships in July 2007.
