A veteran of the 2012 Summer Paralympics and a silver medalist in the 1500 metres T46 at the 2015 African Games, David Emong was 26 years old at the time of the Rio Paralympic Games. His left arm was broken at the shoulder point after his fellow students beat him in primary school in 2005 and he did not receive medical treatment which resulted in the limited usage of the limb. Emong is classified as T46 by the International Paralympic Committee. He qualified for the Games by using a wild card because he could not attend the final qualifying meet in Qatar. Emong partook in the men's 400 metres T45–47 event on 8 September and was assigned to heat three. He finished the race in 58.30 seconds and was fifth and last out of all the finishing runners in his heat. Only the top eight in all three heats progressed to the finals, and Emong was eliminated because he was fifteenth overall. Later that day, he took part in the men's 1500 metres T45–46 competition and competed directly in the final because no heats were scheduled. Emong ran in the fourth lane and overtook Michael Roeger of Australia with 37 seconds to go and claimed second with a time of four minutes and 00.62 seconds. This earned him the silver medal and Uganda's first medal in Paralympic competition. Emong was praised by public figures in Uganda for his achievement, and he spoke of his ambition to inspire young people with disabilities in the country to take up athletics.