Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full name | Barbara Udoezi Nwaba | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Los Angeles, California, United States | January 18, 1989||||||||||||||||||||
Education | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A. 2012) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | Track and field athlete | ||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
College team | UC Santa Barbara Gauchos | ||||||||||||||||||||
Team | Santa Barbara Track Club | ||||||||||||||||||||
Coached by | Josh Priester | ||||||||||||||||||||
Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||
Olympic finals | 2016 | ||||||||||||||||||||
World finals | 2016, 2015 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on 02:41, 30 June 2015 (UTC) |
Barbara Udoezi Nwaba (born January 18, 1989) is an American track and field athlete who represents the Santa Barbara Track Club. Nwaba is known for the pentathlon and heptathlon. She is the 2015 USA Outdoor Track and Field champion in the heptathlon.
Nwaba was born January 18, 1989, in Los Angeles, California, to Nigerian parents Theodore & Blessing Nwaba. She is the oldest of 6 children. A 2007 graduate of University High School, Nwaba was the CIF Los Angeles City Section champion in the 300 meters hurdles in 2007 [1] and a 4-time runner up and representative in the high jump to the CIF California State Meet, but was eliminated in the preliminary rounds. [2]
Nwaba attended the University of California, Santa Barbara on academic grounds, intending to study optometry, [3] ultimately graduating in 2012 with a degree in sociology. After redshirting a season, she set the school records in the 100 meters hurdles, 400 meters hurdles (since surpassed), and was part of the record-setting 4x400 meters relay team (also since surpassed). In the process, she also ranked in the top ten in most of the heptathlon events. [4] She finished her career as the champion of the Big West Conference heptathlon in 2012 en route to being named an All-American. [5]
Her brother, David Nwaba is a professional basketball player.
Continuing with the multi-event-oriented Santa Barbara Track Club, Nwaba made steady improvements with coach Josh Priester, a former UCSB track and field coach. [5] [6] She was fifth at the 2012 Olympic Trials scoring 5986 points. [7] [8]
Nwaba was an assistant coach at Santa Barbara High School in the 2012–13 school year. [9]
At the 2014 Outdoor Championships she finished second to Sharon Day-Monroe in the heptathlon by 163 points, scoring 6307 points. [10]
Barbara Nwaba is the 2015 American Champion, edging Sharon Day-Monroe by 42 points, scoring exactly 6500 points. She finished second to Day-Monroe at the 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the pentathlon. Nwaba's total makes her the sixth-highest-scoring heptathlon performer in United States history. [11]
At the 2015 World Championships in Athletics, Nwaba misstepped the very first hurdle and then fell over the second. [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] She continued in the competition despite the event costing her points. Ultimately, Nwaba completed the heptathlon and scored 5,315 points to place 27th. [17] In the process Nwaba recorded new personal bests in the javelin and shot put. [18]
Barbara Nwaba is the 2016 American Pentathlon Champion and qualified to represent the USA at the 2016 World Indoor Championships in Athletics. [19] Barbara Nwaba earned a bronze medal behind Brianne Theisen-Eaton and Alina Fyodorova in the Pentathlon at the 2016 World Indoor Championships scoring 4661 points. [20]
Barbara Nwaba scored 6494 points in the Heptathlon to join Team USA teammates Heather Miller-Koch and Kendell Williams at the 2016 United States Olympic Trials. She represented USA at the 2016 Summer Olympics [21] finishing 12th as the top American.
The pentathlon or women's pentathlon is a combined track and field event in which each woman competes in five separate events over one day. The distance or time for each event is converted to points via scoring tables, with the overall ranking determined by total points. Since 1949 the events have been sprint hurdling, high jump, shot put, long jump, and a flat race. The sprint hurdles distance was 80 m outdoors until 1969 and thereafter 100 m; in indoor pentathlon the distance is 60 m. The flat race was 200 m until 1976 and thereafter 800 m. In elite-level outdoor competition, the pentathlon was superseded in 1981 by the heptathlon, which has seven events, with both 200 m and 800 m, as well as the javelin throw. Pentathlon is still contested at school and masters level and indoors.
Diana Lynn Pickler is an American heptathlete from Shreveport, Louisiana. She has represented her country at the Olympic and World Championship levels and was the 2009 US heptathlon champion. Her twin sister, Julie Pickler, is also a track and field athlete.
Robert Jacob "Jake" Arnold is a decathlete from the United States. He represented the United States in the decathlon at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships ranking 13th and 24th respectively. He became the first athlete to win back-to-back NCAA decathlon titles in over twenty years after winning the event in both 2006 and 2007.
Ryann Krais is an American athlete. She is a gold and bronze medalist from the 2007 World Youth Championships.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton is a retired Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the heptathlon and women's pentathlon. She won the bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Theisen-Eaton holds the Canadian record for the heptathlon with 6,808 points, as well as the indoor pentathlon with a score of 4768 points. Theisen-Eaton is a heptathlon silver medallist from the 2013 World Championships and 2015 World Championships, as well as a pentathlon silver medalist from the 2014 World Indoor Championships. She is the first and only Canadian woman to podium in the multi-events at the World Championships. Theisen-Eaton won Commonwealth Games gold in the heptathlon at Glasgow 2014 and was the 2016 World Indoor Champion in the pentathlon. She also won a bronze medal as part of the women's 4 x 400 m relay at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.
Sharon Day-Monroe is an American heptathlete, pentathlete and high jumper. She is the 2011, 2013, and 2014 national heptathlon champion.
Chantae McMillan is an American heptathlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Nadine Broersen is a Dutch track and field athlete, specializing in the heptathlon and high jump. She was the 2014 World Indoor pentathlon champion. Broersen competes for the track and field club AV Sprint in Breda.
James Gunnar Nixon is an American track and field athlete who competes in the decathlon. He broke the American high school record for the event in 2011, and was the World Junior Champion in 2012. He won his first national title indoors in 2013, and was runner-up at the 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. His personal record for the decathlon is 8313 points at the 2013 IAAF World Championships.
Nia Ali is an American track and field athlete, who specializes in the 100 m hurdles, heptathlon, and other events.
The 2015 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships was held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Organised by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place from February 27 to March 1 and served as the national championships in track and field for the United States.
Erica Marsha Bougard is an American heptathlete. She was NCAA indoor champion in 2013 and represented the United States at the 2013 World Championships.
Kendell Williams is an American track and field athlete competing in the combined events. She represented her country at the 2016 World Indoor Championships finishing sixth. Williams qualified to represent the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Indoor Championships in Belgrade.
Heather Miller-Koch is an American track and field athlete who represents the Central Park Track Club. She participates in multi events, the pentathlon and heptathlon.
Barbara Ann Mueller is a retired American track and field athlete. She represented the United States at the 1956 Olympics, running the 80 meters hurdles. Her 11.6 did not get her out of the heats. A versatile athlete, she won the pentathlon at the US National Championships in 1955 and 1956, both times defeating Stella Walsh. While finishing second to Cuban Bertha Diaz, she was National Champion in the hurdles in 1955 as the first American in the race. She won the 1954 National Indoor Championship in the 50 yard hurdles. She also ran hurdles in the 1955 and 1959 Pan American Games.
The 2018 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Organized by USA Track and Field (USATF), the three-day competition took place from February 16 to February 18 and served as the national championships in indoor track and field for the United States. All marks in the competition are considered at altitude. The meet serves for the selection of American representatives at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships held in Birmingham March 1 to March 4.
The USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, formerly known as the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships, is an annual outdoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field (USATF) which serves as the national championship for American athletes aged under 20. The competition is also used for American national team selection for the IAAF World U20 Championships in even-numbered years and the Pan American U20 Athletics Championships in odd-numbered years.
Hope Bender is an American track and field athlete, known for multiple events and hurdles. She competed for the Santa Barbara Track Club and coached at UC Santa Barbara Gauchos before moving to San Marcos, Texas to train at Texas State University in Fall 2023. Bender studied to be a Biotechnology engineer.
Chari Wanda Hawkins is an American track and field athlete who competes in combined events. She won the 2022 U.S. Indoor Pentathlon title and has represented the U.S. in the heptathlon at the 2019 World Championships, finishing 12th, and at the 2023 World Championships, finishing 8th.
Anna Hall is an American athlete specializing in the combined events. She won the silver medal in the heptathlon at the 2023 World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships. Hall is the North American indoor record holder for the pentathlon.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)