Eugene Omalla

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 × 400 metres relay.^[1]

Eugene Omalla

Omalla at the Mount SAC Relays in 2024.
Personal information
Nationality	Dutch / Ugandan
Born	(2000-10-05) 5 October 2000 (age 24) Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event	Sprints
College team	Kansas State Wildcats
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	400 m: 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 European Indoor Championships 2025 Apeldoorn 4 × 400 m

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 Wilma 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 4 × 400 m 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] He competed in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning gold with the Dutch team.^[11]

He was selected for the 2025 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Apeldoorn where he won the gold medal with the Dutch team in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay.^[12][13] On 22 April 2025, he was named in the Dutch team for the 2025 World Athletics Relays in Guangzhou, China in May 2025.^[14]

He competed at the 2025 World Athletics Relays in China in the Mixed 4 × 100 metres relay in May 2025.^[15]

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)
	Summer Olympics	Paris, France	1st	4 × 400 m mixed	3:07.43	AR
2025	European Athletics Indoor Championships	Apeldoorn, Netherlands	1st	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.95	(46.46 split)