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Tom Dradiga

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Ugandan middle-distance runner (born 1996)

Tom Dradiga
Personal information
Nationality Uganda
Born17 June 1996 (28 years, 202 days old)
Home townWest Nile sub-region, Uganda
Height180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight67 kg (148 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
Event800 metres
ClubUganda Wildlife Authority
Club Atletismo Unión Guadalajara
Coached byEdwin Kinalya
Mario Peinado
Jesús Peinado
Achievements and titles
National finals
Personal best800m:1:44.74 (2023)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Uganda
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Douala 800 m
Updated on 15 January 2024

Tom Dradiga (born 17 June 1996), also spelled Tom Dradriga, is a Ugandan middle-distance runner specializing in the 800 metres. He is a two-time Ugandan national champion in the event and has a best of 1:44.74.

Career

Dradiga began his career domestically, achieving a 1:52 800 m personal best after a series of Uganda Athletics Federation trial races in 2018. His first breakthrough came in August 2019, when he improved his personal best from 1:48.50 to 1:46.84 in finishing second at the TBAC Meeting, behind Abu Salim Mayanja.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling major athletics meetings in 2020 and 2021, Dradiga's next personal best did not come until March 2022, running 1:46.58 to win the inaugural National Trials meeting in Kampala. On 25 March 2022, Dradiga won the Djibouti Meeting International, which served as the Djiboutian Athletics Championships for that year but also allowed foreigners to compete.

Dradiga's season best qualified him for the 2022 African Championships in Athletics, where he advanced beyond the quarter-finals on time but finished sixth in his semi-final, failing to advance to the finals. After winning the Ugandan championships, Dradiga represented Uganda at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where he finished 5th in his 800 m heat and again did not advance to the finals.

In 2023, Dradiga won the Meeting Desafio Nerja Restaurante Pulguilla Y Ayo in a personal best of 1:46.52. One month later, Dradiga made the biggest improvement of his career to finish 2nd at the Memorial José Antonio Cansino in Castellón. His time of 1:44.80 was an improvement of almost two seconds, qualifying him for the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He improved that personal best by another 0.06 seconds at the Meeting de Madrid one month before flying to Budapest for his World Championships round. In his heat, Dradiga finished 7th in 1:48.60 and did not advance to the semi-finals.

Personal life

Dradiga is from the West Nile sub-region of Uganda. Until 2022, he trained under the Uganda Wildlife Authority Athletics club, with a group of sprinters coached by Edwin Kinalya.

In 2023, Dradiga moved to Spain and became a member of the Club Atletismo Unión Guadalajara, coached by Mario Peinado and Jesús Peinado. He trains with fellow Ugandan Dismas Yeko, who also competes for the club.

Statistics

Best performances

Event Mark Pl. Competition Venue Date Ref
800 metres 1:44.74 4th Meeting Madrid Madrid, Spain 22 July 2023

References

  1. ^ Tom Dradiga at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  2. ^ "Dradiga outruns Bekele, Idow to clinch gold in Djibouti Championships". New Vision. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  3. "Stockholm 2023 Full Media Information Sheets" (PDF). Diamond League.
  4. "Athletics recap for meeting #303541". Tilastopaja.
  5. "Brits in winning form in Germany and USA – overseas results round-up". AW. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  6. "Mariano García reta a Adrián Ben en el duelo de campeones de Europa en Madrid". MARCA (in Spanish). 3 July 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Club Atletismo Unión Guadalajara". www.caug.es. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  8. Sands, Rich. "World Champs Men's 800 — Arop's Patience Rewarded". Track & Field News. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  9. "Ugandan sprinters set for Djibouti Athletics Championships today". New Vision. Retrieved 2 February 2024.

External links

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