Tarsis Orogot remains confident in spite of criticism about his Monaco performance

Tarsis Orogot, a 200-meter sprinter from Uganda, is totally relaxed as he gets ready for his Olympic debut.

Now in his fourth week in Europe, the University of Alabama student is honing his performance in preparation for the July 26 start of the Paris Games.

Orogot is unconcerned despite finishing ninth out of nine 200-meter outdoor races this year with his poorest time.

A few days before the Monaco event, Orogot finished second in the Meeting Paris at the Stade Charléty, clocking in at 20.18 seconds behind Alexander Ogando.

Orogot trailed Ogando and Letsile Tebogo of Botswana, who won in 19.87 seconds, in Monaco.

Orogot is the sole sprinter from Uganda in the 21-man athletics team that will participate in track and field events at the Stade de France and in the streets of Paris.

With a timing of 19.75 this year, he shattered his own 200-meter national record (NR), placing him sixth in the world by 2024.

Since Davis Kamoga earned a bronze medal in the 400 meters in the Atlanta 1996 Games in the United States, no male sprinter from Uganda has participated in an Olympic competition.

In particular, Orogot is the first Ugandan to race in the 200m event in 32 years, having done so in 1992 during the Barcelona Games in Spain with Francis Ogola.