![]() Omalla at the Mount SAC Relays in 2024. | |||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nationality | Dutch / Ugandan | ||||||||||||||
Born | Zoetermeer, Netherlands | 5 October 2000||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||
Sport | Athletics | ||||||||||||||
Event | Sprints | ||||||||||||||
College team | Kansas State Wildcats | ||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||
Personal bests | 400m: 46.06 (Commerce, 2023) Indoors 400 m: 45.18 AR (Lubbock , 2024) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Eugene Omalla (born 5 October 2000) is a Ugandan-Dutch sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. He holds the African indoor record over 400 metres. From April 2024, he has represented the Netherlands. He won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 metres relay. [1]
He has a twin brother, Jaime Omalla, who also competes in athletics. They have an Ugandan father called Timothy Omalla and a Dutch mother Wilmer Omalla . They were born in Zoetermeer and lived in the Netherlands until they were seven years-old when they moved to Uganda. They both study at the Kansas State University in the United States. From 2024, they both run under the Netherlands flag, having both previously represented Uganda. [2]
He ran an outdoors personal best of 46.06 seconds for the 400 metres in May 2023. [3] [4] He ran 45.18 seconds indoors to set a new African continental record for the 400 metres at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock. [5] [6]
He qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, Massachusetts, to run in the 400 metres and the 4x400m relay, in a team that included his twin brother. [7] He ran a time of 46.37 seconds in the individual event. [8] They finished third in the relay final to win the bronze medal alongside Tavon Underwood and Kyle Gayle. [9]
He ran for the Netherlands for the first time at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas. [10]
Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted. [1]
Event | Time in s | Location | Date | Record | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
200 metres | 20.64 | 14 July 2024 | La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland | (Wind: +0.7 m/s) | |
300 metres | 32.68 | 28 April 2024 | Willemstad, Curaçao | ||
400 metres | 45.18 i | 23 February 2024 | Lubbock, Texas, United States | ||
400 metres short track | 45.18 i | 23 February 2024 | Lubbock, Texas, United States | AR | Omalla was representing Uganda/Africa at the time. |
Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted. [1]
Year | Competition | Location | Position | Event | Time | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | World Athletics Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 12th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:03.02 | (45.69 split) |
Summer Olympics | Paris, France | 1st | 4 × 400 m mixed | 3:07.43 | AR |
The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and race in separate lanes for the entire course. In many countries, athletes previously competed in the 440-yard dash (402.336 m)—which is a quarter of a mile and was referred to as the "quarter-mile"—instead of the 400 m (437.445 yards), though this distance is now obsolete.
Liemarvin Bonevacia is a Dutch sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. He won bronze medals in the event at the 2016 and 2024 European Athletics Championships, and the 2017 and 2021 European Indoor Championships. Bonevacia also earned five major medals for the 4 × 400 m relays, either men's or mixed, including silver medal in the men's relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lisanne de Witte is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres, where she held the Dutch record with her personal best time of 50.77 seconds from 2018 to 2021.
Dylan Borlée is a Belgian sprinter who competes in the 400 metres. He is a member of the Borlée family.
Vernon Larnard Norwood is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 400 meters.
Kendall Baisden is an American track and field sprinter who specializes in the 400-meter dash. She holds a personal record of 50.46 seconds for the distance, set in 2014.
Courtney Okolo is an American track and field sprinter who usually competes in the 400 metres. She starred at Carrollton (Texas) Newman Smith High School where she won multiple individual state championships.
Nethaneel Joseph Mitchell-Blake is a British sprinter who specialises in the 200 metres and the 4 x 100 metre relay. He was the 2013 European Junior Champion and his personal best of 19.95 seconds ranks him as the second-fastest in Britain of all-time in the individual event. He is only the second Briton, after Adam Gemili to break both 10 seconds for 100 metres and 20 seconds for 200 metres.
Laura de Witte is a Dutch sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. De Witte was born in Leek, Netherlands. Her older sister, Lisanne de Witte, is also a 400 m sprinter.
Fredrick Lee Kerley is an American track and field sprinter. He was the Olympic silver medalist over 100 m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in the same event. Kerley has earned an additional six medals at the World Championships, most notably 100m gold at the 2022 edition. He has also medalled in the 400m, 4 x 100m relay, and 4 × 400 m relay and won eleven Diamond League races, including two Diamond League finals - the 400m in 2018 and the 100m in 2021.
Jonathan Sacoor is a Belgian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres.
Rhasidat Adeleke is an Irish sprinter.
Matthew Boling is an American track and field athlete specializing in the sprints and long jump. He won four gold medals at the 2019 Pan American U20 Championships in the 100 m, 200 m, 4 × 100 m relay and 4 × 400 m relay, and helped set world under-20 records in both of the relay races for the United States. He also ran in the semi-final for the American 4 × 400 m relay team at the 2018 World U20 Championships that went on to earn silver in the final. Boling would later go on to win a gold medal at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in the mixed 4 x 400 m relay, and would help set a world record for the event in the process.
Femke Bol is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in hurdling and sprinting. She specialises in the 400 metres hurdles, where she is the 2023 World Champion, and in the 400 metres, where she is the 2024 World Indoor Champion and the short track world record holder. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team and the 2024 Olympic Champion with the Dutch mixed team.
Lieke Klaver is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. She specializes in the 200 metres and in the 400 metres. In the 4 × 400 metres relay, she is the 2023 World Champion and the 2024 World Indoor Champion with the Dutch women's team. She won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the mixed 4 x 400 metres relay.
Zoë Frederique Sedney is a Dutch athlete who competes in the hurdles, 100 metres, 200 metres, 400 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay. Sedney won two gold medals at the 2017 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival. As a senior in 2021, she competed in both the European Indoor Championships and the Summer Olympics. In 2022, she became part of the 4 × 100 metres Dutch relay team, competing together with her older sister Naomi Sedney.
Elija Godwin is an American athlete who specialises in the 400 metres.
Andrea Bouma is a Dutch athlete who competes as a sprinter.
Eveline Saalberg is a Dutch sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres.
Isaya Klein Ikkink is a Dutch track and field athlete who competes in sprinting. He specializes in the 400 metres, where he has a personal best time of 45.41 seconds from 2024.