Lagos — Until now the history of Ugandan athletics has usually been written with the names of men in mind. John Akii-Bua, Davis Kamoga and Julius Achon have been main contributors to their country's sporting legacy.

However, Dorcas Inzikuru struck a blow for Ugandan women's equality by taking the first gold of the IAAF World Junior Championships. Inzikuru won the women's 5,000 to become the first Ugandan female in any sport to triumph on a global stage.

On a day of surprise - which saw Poland's Kamila Skolimowska, the Olympic women's hammer champion, eliminated in the qualifying competition - Inzikuru provided, perhaps, the biggest upset of them all by outsprinting the heavily favoured Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.

No one expected to see the 18-year-old Arua schoolgirl to be on the medal podium, let alone at the very top, except the runner herself.

"I'm very, very happy but I was always confident that I could win," she said.

"I don't know where my talent comes from, except, maybe it is God-given because no one else in my family runs. I only started two years ago."

Inzikuru only made it to Chile thanks to IAAF financial assistance, with Uganda restricted to sending one man and one woman to compete due to a shortage of cash in her home federation, but the decision of the Uganda federation to select her over the claims of others proved inspired.

It also helped to diminish the memories of her last overseas trip when she tried to pursue her Olympic dream.

She travelled to Australia in a desperate bid to get the qualifying time for Sydney but fell just short and had to return to Uganda without setting foot on the track in the Olympic stadium.

"I learnt a lot from them," she said. The knowledge was used to great effect with a devastating finishing sprint in the final 100 metres to cross the line in 16:21:32, putting 10 metres between herself and the second-placed Ethiopian Meseret Defar at the finish.

"I missed the Olympics but now I can look forward to Edmonton," Inzikuru said with pride.

Her delighted coach Kiwa Faustino was desperately looking around the stadium for a telephone shortly after her victory.

"It's around midnight in Uganda but I'm just going to have to wake them up," Faustino grinned.

Faustino predicted a big party at Kampala airport when their heroine finally makes it home. "I'm sure there are going to be people from the government and the mayor of Kampala there to meet her… and of course all her family. Maybe saying thousands will be there to celebrate her return is too many but there are going to be a lot of people."

However, it could be a long time before her relatives see Inzikuru's victory for themselves. Her family, from farming stock, don't even own a television let alone a video.

"But they listen to the radio so maybe they, and everybody else in Uganda, will hear about the news from the BBC World Service," Faustino said, unable to contain his excitement as what his charge had achieved.