The literature prevailingly attributes the 110 meters-hurdles’ Uganda national record to Jean-Baptiste Okello, thanks to his personal better of 14.48 seconds he established in the Olympic games of 1960 in Rome.
The 20 year-old Okello and also the 21 year-old Aggrey Awori symbolized Uganda within the high-hurdles event in Rome. The very first round of competition, then your quarter-finals, then your semi-finals, and then the ultimate, counseled me held on the day that September 3rd 1960. The preliminary round contained six heats, Okello was joined within the first heat, Awori was joined within the sixth heat. There have been 5 to 7 hurdlers in every heat, and also the fastest four of every heat would entitled to the second round (quarter-finals). In the heat, Okello was second (14.59), he therefore moved to the next round. Awori didn’t fare too, he carried out in 4th place (15.36), but nonetheless qualified for that quarter-finals.
The quarter-finals were split into four heats, each heat with six hurdlers. The quickest three in every heat would entitled to the semi-finals. Within the first heat, by which Okello was placed, he finished second (14.48), and therefore qualified for that semi-finals. It was a brand new and impressive Uganda record. Awori was eliminated after finishing 4th within the third heat (14.94).
The semi-finals contained two heats, each with six athletes. Okello featured within the first heat. The quickest three in every heat would proceed to the ultimate. Okello didn’t progress towards the finals, after finishing fifth here (14.59).
Close to the finish from the Games, Awori and Okello would participate Uganda’s 4x100m relay team. These were disqualified within the first round. Another sprinters were Samuel Amukun and Gadi Ado. The 4 youngsters were the only real Uganda competitors in the Olympic games in Rome. One of the four, only Samuel Erasmus Amukun and Aggrey Awori would proceed to representing Uganda in the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo, japan. Awori would establish school records within the sprints, the lengthy jump, and also the high hurdles at Harvard College, and that he later be a prominent Uganda civil servant and politician. Amukun grew to become a leading geologist in Canada.
Some have contended that Aggrey Awori holds Uganda’s 110 meters-hurdles record. He did finish our prime hurdles inside a meet and Harvard record of 14.2 seconds at the begining of May 1965 in the Greater Boston Collegiate Track and Field Titles in the Harvard Stadium (Editors 1965: 8). The problem is it had become within the 120 yards-hurdles. That’s very approximate, although not exactly 110 meters. Also, the circumstances weren’t recognized or ratified by an worldwide athletics body. There is even the factor of favorable winds.
Hidden within the annals may be the 110 meters-hurdles national record that golden Olympian John Akii-Bua, who also supports the national records within the decathlon and also the 400 meters, set in the 1970 Commonwealth Games locked in Edinburgh. The Games required place from This summer 16th to 25th. It’s generally known that Akii-Bua finished 4th here, within the final from the 400 meters-hurdles, the start of his meteoric rise to stardom.
In Edinburgh, there’d be three models of 110 meters-hurdles’ competition, such as the final. Each round contained seven hurdlers, and also the fastest five in every heat would advance towards the semi-finals. Akii-Bua was put into the very first heat of three heats, he advanced towards the semi finals due to his 4th-place finish. He carried out in 14.39 seconds, clearly a brand new Uganda record. There doesn’t appear to become evidence that any Ugandan has ran quicker than that in case. The champion within this heat was particularly British legend David Hemery who’d won gold in the 1968 Olympic games in Mexico city where he concurrently set a ” new world ” record.
In the Commonwealth Games of 1970 in Edinburgh, there have been two semi-final heats within the 110 meters-hurdles and Akii-Bua was put into the second, each composed of eight hurdlers. The very first four fastest in every semi-final heat, would advance towards the finals. Akii-Bua unsuccessful to really make it towards the finals by finishing fifth in 14.43 seconds. But this timing was quicker than the Uganda record that Jean-Baptiste Okello erroneously holds (14.48)!
David Hemery would win within the finals (13.99) and claim gold.