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Orogot eyes historic 200m final
Orogot (C) won his heat. PHOTO/DARREN ALLAN KYEYUNE
What you need to know:
In Budapest, Orogot admitted to running so many collegiate races after he came third in semifinal Heat 2 won by Lyles with Ogando in second. He was ranked 13th best at the end of the event.
PARIS, FRANCE. By the time he walked off the light purple tartan track of the Stade de France on Monday evening, Tarsis Orogot had already set his own piece of history at the Paris Olympics here in the French capital.
And it was not about his yellow Sponge Bob socks, no. It was about the magnitude of his performance. Orogot had just won his debut race at the Olympics.
He had come through lane 3 to win the men’s 200m Heat 2 in a time of 20.32 seconds at the Paris 2024 Games. “I am happy and I did what I had to do to win the Heat,” he said.
“Coach (Blaine Wiley) told me to win the Heat and let’s go for a semifinal.” The US-based sprinter Orogot had become the first Ugandan ever to qualify for the semifinal Heats of this race in Olympic history.
In the past eight men, have run the 200m race at the Olympics with Francis Ogola being the last competitor at the Barcelona 1992 Games in Spain. “And now I look forward and see how to draw in the semifinal and have to do the same thing all over again and try to win my semifinal,” Orogot went on.
Orogot touches the line. PHOTOS/REUTERS
Orogot has unraveled history over this distance for Uganda and before Paris; he posted a new national record time of 19.75 seconds making him the fifth fastest man in the world this year.
The University of Alabama student will return to action on Wednesday in the men’s 200m semifinal Heat 1 with a target of making the top two automatic qualifying places to reach Thursday night’s final.
And the goal is pretty clear: “Make the final. I just have to give my best and we'll see what happens,” he said. This is the third year in a row that Orogot has made a semifinal of the 200m at a major championship.
He however missed reaching the final during both the Oregon 2022 and Budapest 2023 editions of the World Athletics Championships in the USA and Hungary respectively.
He will be in a semifinal Heat that has American Kenny Bednarek, reigning Olympic champion Canadian Andre de Grasse, Dominica Republic’s Alexander Ogando and home boy Ryan Zeze.
During the semifinal Heat at the Hayward Field in Eugene - Oregon two years ago, Orogot came fifth as eventual champion American Noah Lyles won. He finished ranked 13th overall.
In Budapest, Orogot admitted to running so many collegiate races after he came third in semifinal Heat 2 won by Lyles with Ogando in second. He was ranked 13th best at the end of the event.
But things are a little different in Paris. “Right now it’s about learning from the past experiences and being competitive in every round,” said Orogot. “I have matured and gotten better as an athlete.
He however is doing it alone physically after his coach Wiley from Alabama did not make it to Paris. Wiley posted on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that he had only kept in touch with Orogot on Monday in live video via Apple communication portal FaceTime.
Orogot has his eyes on the prize.
“The expectations are high but the small things are not taken into consideration,” a disappointed Orogot said, “It’s very unbecoming for an athlete to come to the Olympic Games without a coach. A coach should be a priority for every team. So such things are very disappointing but we have to work through it and do the best we can,” he added.
Wiley and Orogot worked together for some days in the Netherlands before the latter travelled to Paris. Meanwhile, Bednarek is the second fastest in the world this year with 19.59 seconds behind Lyles, who won the 100m Olympic title on Sunday.
Zeze, Bahamas’ Ryan McCoy, Ogando and Jamaican Bryan Levell who are in the field, are all also sub-20 second performers this year.
PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS - SELECTED RESULT
MEN’S 200M HEAT 2
1 Tarsis Orogot (UGA) 20.32
2 Wanya McCoy (BAH) 20.35
3 Renan Correa (BRA) 20.41
TEAM UGANDA SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, AUG 6 - DAY 14
12:10pm: Oscar Chelimo (Men’s 5000m Heats)
12:55pm: Tom Dradriga (Men’s 800m Heats)
1.45pm: Winnie Nanyondo (Women’s 1500m Repechage Heat 1)
9.02pm: Men’s 200m Semi-Final
10.43pm: Men’s 3000m Steeplechase Final
THURSDAY, AUG 8 - DAY 16
1pm: Men’s 800m Repechage
8.35pm: Women’s 1500m Semi-finals
9.30pm: Men’s 200m Final
UGANDAN 200M MALE SPRINTERS AT OLYMPICS
Melbourne 1956: Benjamin Nguda (7th - Preliminary Heats, 22.89)
Rome 1960: Sam Amukun (4th - Quarterfinal Heat, 21.30)
Tokyo 1964: Sam Amukun (5th - Prelim Heats, 21.50), Aggrey Awori (7th - Prelim Heats, 22.20)
Mexico City 1968: William Dralu (6th - Prelim Heats, 21:38)
Munich 1972: William Dralu (6th - Prelim Heats, 21:87)
Los Angeles 1984: John Goville (7th - Quarterfinal Heat, 21.55)
Seoul 1988: Sunday Olweny (Rank 47th - Prelim Heats, 21.79)
Barcelona 1992: Francis Ogola (8th - Quarterfinal Heat, 21.41)
