Olympics: Four Ugandan Athletes In Action on Wednesday

Wednesday
*Oscar Chelimo (Men’s 5000m Heats) – 12:30pm
*Winnie Nanyondo (Women’s 1500m Repechage) – 1:45pm
*Tarsis Orogot (Men’s 200m Semis) – 9:02pm
*Leonard Chemutai (Mens 3000m SC final) – 10:43pm

Four Ugandan athletes will take to the track on Wednesday, headlined by Leonard Chemutai, who is chasing a medal in the Men’s 3000m Steeplechase, at the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics in France.

Chemutai reached the final with an impressive performance on Monday, finishing second in Heat One with his season’s best time of 8:18.19.

His primary goal was to make the final, but now he is here, he can dream of securing a medal.

He will face tough competition from Morocco’s defending champion Soufiane El Bakkali and Ethiopia’s silver medalist Lamecha Girma.

In the Men’s 200m semifinals, Tarsis Orogot will compete in Heat Three.

Orogot, the first Ugandan sprinter since Davis Kamoga in the 1996 Atlanta Games to represent the country at the Olympics, clocked 20:32 to win his heat.

The University of Alabama student will need a strong start to advance to the final, facing stiff competition from World Number Two Kenneth Bednarek (USA), Andre De Grasse (Canada), and Andrew Ogando (Dominican Republic).

Oscar Chelimo will compete in the Men’s 5000m heats, a race that saw the withdrawals of Joshua Cheptegei and Jacob Kiplimo.

Chelimo, who will run in Heat Two against top contenders like Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) and Grant Fisher (USA), aims to secure a spot in the final.

The bronze medalist from the 2022 World Championships in Eugene is expected to perform well.

Winnie Nanyondo will participate in the Women’s 1500m Repechage after failing to secure an automatic spot in the semifinals in Tuesday’s heats.

Nanyondo finished 10th with a time of 4:07.06. To advance, she needs to finish among the top three in her heat, which includes strong competitors Birke Haylom (Ethiopia) and Esther Guerrero (Spain).

Uganda has so far won two medals at the ongoing games – Joshua Cheptegei’s gold in 10,000m and Peruth Chemutai’s Silver in Women’s 30000m Steeplechase.