Orogot bows out of 2024 Olympics

It has been 28 years since Uganda was last represented by a sprinter at the Olympic Games when Davis Kamoga competed in the 1996 games in Atlanta.

Kamoga’s heroics saw him bag a bronze in the 400m final during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and since then no Ugandan sprinter has come close to matching that feat.

When Tarsis Orogot Uganda’s lone sprinter at this year’s games in Paris made the semis two days ago the feeling was that he could match that feat or at the least make the final of the 200m race.

But he crashed out in the semis after finishing sixth out of eight in 20.64 in one of the fastest semifinals heats where only the top two made it to the finals. Earlier, he had clocked 20.32 to finish first in heat 1 of round one to qualify for the semis as he debuted at the games.

Kenneth Bednarek from the USA and Alexander Ogando from the Dominican Republic made it from the heat after they clocked 20.00 and 20.09 respectively.

But Orogot will be content that his Olympic debut at least resulted in a semifinal finish and that his outing has unlocked Uganda’s potential in the sprints.

The Alabama University student is not deterred and noted that he had matured as an athlete, with the only disappointment he encountered was competing without his coach Blaine Wiley, who wasn’t accredited for the games.

About two and a half months ago Tarsis Gracious Orogot shattered his 200m record when he powered to a 19.75 seconds during the SEC Championship in Gainesville, Florida. This stands as the national record over the distance.

Team Uganda is sponsored to the games by the government of Uganda through the NCS with additional support from Plascon.