Orogot sets 2023 agenda
Orogot has his eyes on the horizon. PHOTO/COURTSEY
What you need to know:
He hopes to keep the energy long into the year with the Budapest World Championships in Hungary as his main focus.
Tarsis Orogot carried a bright smile to his keniosology class on Monday at the University of Alabama in USA after sweet weekend.
The sprinter from Uganda toasted to a perfect start to the year after he set a new indoor national record (NR) after finishing fourth in the men’s 200m race during the Bob Pollock Invitational at Clemson University Indoor Track in South Carolina on Sunday.
“The race was good,” Orogot said after posting a time of 20.71 seconds to win Heat 2. After all Heats, he was ranked fourth at the championship.
“We have been working hard on my indoor racing and it only shows we making strides in the right direction,” said the 20-year-old.
Unlike last year when he joined the USA indoor athletics calendar late, this time Orogot is a more prepared man.
He had not competed since finishing fifth in the 200m semifinal Heat 2 of the Oregon World Athletics Championships in Eugene last July.
He would have competed at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in England thereafter but his UK visa process started late and then stalled.
Orogot on Sunday broke his own NR mark of 21.07 set last year at Gilliam Track during the Sec Indoor Championships in Texas.
“It’s a personal best so it shows I have gotten better and I can only keep getting better if I continue to put in the hard work,” said the man coached by Blaine Wiley.
He hopes to keep the energy long into the year with the Budapest World Championships in Hungary as his main focus.
OROGOT AT A GLANCE
Full Name: Tarsis Orogot
Nickname: ‘Gonya’
Date of birth: November 24, 2002
Major events: 100m and 200m
Outdoor Personal bests: 10.35 seconds (100m) and 20.32 (200m)
Coach: Blaine Wiley
Management: None
Major Honours: Uganda 100m and 200m Junior and Senior National Records, World U20 200m Finalist (4th place), 200m NCAA Trophy (5th place)
OROGOT INDOOR IN 2022 (200M)
Feb 5, 2022: Charlie Thomas Invitational (7th, 21.36)
Feb 12, 2022: Tyson Invitational (2nd, 21.39)
Feb 25, 2022: SEC Indoor Championships (3rd, 21.07)
