Eugene Omalla

Dutch-Ugandan athlete

Eugene Omalla

Omalla at the Mount SAC Relays in 2024.

Personal information

Nationality

Dutch / Ugandan

Born

(2000-10-05) 5 October 2000 (age 23)
Zoetermeer, Netherlands

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

Men's athletics

Representing the Netherlands
Olympic Games
	2024 Paris	4×400 m mixed

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]

Early life

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]

Career

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]

Personal bests

Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.^[1]

Personal best times for individual events
Event	Time in sTooltip Seconds	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.

Competition results

Information from his World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.^[1]

Achievements in international competitions representing the Netherlands
Year	Competition	Location	Position	Event	Time	Notes
2024	World Athletics Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	12th	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.02	(45.69 split)
2024	Summer Olympics	Paris, France	1st	4 × 400 m mixed	3:07.43	AR

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Eugene Omalla". World Athletics. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Sprinters Eugene and Jaime Omalla will now compete for the Netherlands". Runners World. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Sprint twins Omalla will join the Dutch athletics team". Nos.nl. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Sprint twins Omalla will join the Dutch athletics team". nhnieuws.nl. April 11, 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Omalla twins will join the Dutch sprint team". Atletiek.nl. 11 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "African indoor record holder for 400 meters strengthens Dutch athletics team". nu.nl. April 11, 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Multiple Wildcats qualify for NCAA indoor championships". The Mercury. 1 March 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "NCAA Division I Indoor Championships". World Athletics. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ "Men's 4x400 Metres Relay Short Track". World Athletics. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^ van Driel, Mark (6 May 2024). "Why sprint twins Omalla competes for the Netherlands: 'You have to choose what helps you most forward'". Retrieved 12 May 2024.