The Lady With A Heart of a Champion and The Spirit of a Fighter
By Mwambazi Lawrence
Ever seen a family where dinner table conversations include engine specs, gear ratios, and the inevitable, “Who spilled the oil this time?” Welcome to 444 Racing, the household where bedtime stories sound like race commentary and a “family outing” usually means someone is loading bikes onto a trailer. Since 2013, this crew has been putting the fun in fuel fumes and right in the middle of the action is one fearless rider making serious noise: Shadia Kateete.
Shadia, bike number 44 is the fourth born in a line-up of eight siblings basically a full motocross starting grid at home. Growing up in the Kateete family meant two things: you learned to walk… and then you learned to ride. Inspired by her dad, Abdul Kateete a man who treats engines the way chefs treat spices Shadia climbed onto her first bike, a Pewee 50cc, at just four years old. While other kids were learning ABCs, she was learning throttle control and how not to panic when the bike made noises like a blender arguing with a lawnmower.
After a year of practice and probably a few slow-motion tip-overs, she joined active competition in 2012 at Garuga Victoria Raceway. By 2013, she was already first runner-up in the Pewee 50cc Junior class. A year later, she went one better and became champion. And she didn’t do it quietly. She battled the boys including Malcolm Omodin in races so tight .
In 2016, she upgraded to a 65cc Kawasaki, which was faster, louder, and clearly eager to test her reflexes. A crash in Busiika during one of the races injured her foot and cut her season short. But if motocross teaches you anything, it’s that dirt washes off and courage grows back. She returned stronger, only to be told she had outgrown the bike the motocross version of “you’ve finished the food, now get a bigger plate.”
In 2018, her dad got her a Kawasaki 85cc, and Shadia used it to announce herself loudly by winning the 85cc Ladies Championship. Suddenly performance improved and her name was everywhere. Trackside whispers changed from “Who’s that girl?” to “Eh! That girl again!”
By 2020 she stepped up to a 125cc KTM and promptly grabbed the 125cc Ladies Championship too, like she was collecting trophies the way other teens collect selfies. But 2021 brought a serious crash that injured her right shoulder and arm, forcing her into a long break. Instead of giving up, Shadia focused on recovery and school, quietly planning her comeback like a movie hero training in the mountains.
She returned in 2023, competing in both girls’ and boys’ categories because one challenge is never enough. Another knee injury slowed her down again, but it also proved one thing: Shadia may fall, but she never stays down long enough for the dust to settle properly.
In 2024 she surprised many by stepping into navigation, guiding her brother Ahmed in sprints and autocross and even earning Best Junior Navigator. Not many riders can say they race on two wheels and give pace notes at high speed. That same year she also debuted a 250cc GasGas, a powerful machine that took time to adapt to like adopting a very fast, very loud pet that only understands throttle language.
Then came 2025, and Shadia was on fire. She kicked off the season by winning the Ladies category in Masaka and went bar-to-bar with strong competitors like Swansa Sambo, Shamillah Kateete (yes, sibling rivalry with helmets), and Asiyah Kasilye. Unfortunately, a crash during practice towards an event in Lira led to surgery, putting her back into recovery mode once again proof that her medical file probably has its own loyalty card by now.
Now heading into 2026, Shadia is back in training and aiming squarely at the WIM Championship. It may be a ladies’ series, but she’s also lining up against the boys because she believes in equal rights and equal roost that’s flying dirt for the uninitiated. She’s sticking with her 250cc GasGas this season and believes motocross in Uganda is only getting bigger, with more young talent rising every year. But behind every twist of the throttle is a strong support system: her dad Abdul Kateete, her mum Nampijja Shadia, and the entire 444 Racing team the only family where “pass me something” might mean a spanner instead of the salt.
One thing is certain: wherever there’s noise, dust, and someone shouting “Who tightened this bolt?”, Shadia Kateete won’t be far away… probably already in the air over a jump, smiling inside her helmet. Through crashes and championships, school books and starting gates, Shadia has shown that strength isn’t the absence of setbacks it’s the courage to rise again, even when the track feels longer and the jumps look higher. She has learned to turn pain into power, pressure into focus, and doubt into fuel. That mindset, more than any machine she rides, is what truly makes her unstoppable.
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