Orogot breaks national record, sets new personal best

Tarsis Orogot at Alabama Track and Field|Courtesy Image

Athletics Orogot breaks national record, sets new personal best

Allan Damba • 12:17 - 16.04.2023

As he clocked 19.60 (+2.9m/s wind reading), the Soroti-born became the second-fastest sprinter at the all-conditions mark in collegiate history.

Ugandan athlete Tarsis Orogot was involved in a historic performance on the second day of the Track and Field multi-meet weekend in the United States.

Orogot clocked a sub-20-second time at the Tom Jones Memorial in a 200m sprint race on Saturday.

As he clocked 19.60 (+2.9m/s wind reading), the Soroti-born became the second-fastest sprinter at the all-conditions mark in collegiate history.

To win the race, he fended off opposition from United States athletes Robert Gregory and Cameron Miller, who ran 19.78 and 19.93 seconds, respectively.

More historically, though, as he made his personal best (19.60), now the best by a Ugandan, Orogot became the 11th fastest 200m runner in history.

Just 20 years old, Orogot is now behind the legendary Andre De Grasse, Tyson Gay and Justin Gatlin, who occupy 10th, ninth and eighth on the top ten 200m runners of all time.

Jamaican and world record holder Usain Bolt tops the list as he stands tall and strong at 19.19 seconds.

Orogot's previous personal best (an Uganda record) stood at 20.32 seconds (-0.1 m/s), a feat he reached at Eugene in June 2022.

The fastest sprinters (200m)

1. Usain Bolt - 19.19 seconds

2. Yohan Blake - 19.26

3. Noah Lyles - 19.31

4. Michael Johnson - 19.32

5. Kenneth Bednarek - 19.49

6. Erriyon Knighton - 19.49

7. Walter Dix - 19.53

8. Justin Gatlin - 19.57

9. Tyson Gay - 19.58

10. Andre De Grasse - 19.58

11. Tarsis Orogot - 19.60

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