Chidi Okezie

Last updated
Chidi Okezie
Okezei Chidi Anthony 6.jpg
2023 African Games
Personal information
Nationality American/Nigerian
Born (1993-08-08) August 8, 1993 (age 30)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight198 lb (90 kg)
Sport
Sport Running
Event 400 metres
College team Hampton Pirates
Coached byMaurice Pierce
Achievements and titles
Personal best400 m: 45.24 (Nevis 2018)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
World Junior Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2012 Barcelona 4×400 m relay
Representing Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
African Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2023 Accra 400 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2019 Rabat 400 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2019 Rabat 4×400 m relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2023 Accra 4×400 m relay
African Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2016 Durban 400 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Asaba 400 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2018 Asaba 4 × 400 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Saint Pierre 4 × 400 m

Chidi Anthony Okezie (born August 8, 1993) is a US-born sprinter of Nigerian and Jamaican descent. [1] Okezie is competing internationally for Nigeria. He is a two-time African Championships bronze medallist in the 400 metres.

Contents

Personal

His father, Moses Okezie is Nigerian and his mother Carol Morris is Jamaican. He has nine siblings. [2] He graduated from Hampton University in 2015 and has a Master's in Sports Administration.

Career

Okezie was part of the American 4 × 400 m relay team that won a gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona. [3]

He represented Nigeria at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and reached the semifinals of the 400 m. He also ran the anchor leg for the country in the 4 x 400 metres relay heats. The team finished second but were eventually disqualified for a lane infringement. [4]

The 2018 African Championships were a success for Okezie. He won an individual bronze medal in the 400 metres behind Baboloki Thebe and Thapelo Phora. This made him a two-time African Championships bronze medallist as he had won a bronze medal at the 2016 Championships in Durban. He later anchored the Nigerian 4 x 400 m relay team to a bronze medal behind Kenya and South Africa. Okezie was also a member of the African quartet that placed second in the mixed 4 x 400 m relay at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.

In 2019, he won the bronze medal in the men's 4 × 400 metres relay at the 2019 African Games held in Rabat, Morocco. [5] He also won the bronze medal in the men's 400 metres. [5]

His personal best in the 400 metres is 45.24 s which he set at the 2018 Culturama Games in Nevis.

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st4 × 400 m relay 3:03.99
Representing Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 15th (h)400 m 47.05
5th4 × 400 m relay 3:08.55
African Championships Durban, South Africa 3rd400 m 45.76
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 17th (sf)400 m 48.53
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 21st (sf)400 m 47.33
4 × 400 m relay DQ
African Championships Asaba, Nigeria 3rd400 m 45.65
3rd4 × 400 m relay 3:04.88
2019 African Games Rabat, Morocco 3rd400 m 45.61
3rd4 × 400 m relay 3:03.42
2022 African Championships Port Louis, Mauritius 4th200 m 21.02
3rd4 × 400 m relay 3:07.05
2024 African Games Accra, Ghana 1st400 m 45.06
3rd4 × 400 m relay 3:01.84

National Titles

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Collins</span> Saint Kitts and Nevis sprinter

Kim Collins is a former Kittitian track and field sprinter. In 2003, he became the World Champion in the 100 metres. He represented his country at the Summer Olympics on five occasions, from 1996 to 2016, and was the country's first athlete to reach an Olympic final. He competed at ten editions of the World Championships in Athletics, from 1995 to 2015, winning five medals. He was a twice runner-up in the 60 metres at the IAAF World Indoor Championships. At regional level, he was a gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games and a silver medallist at the Pan American Games. As of 2023, he is the only Individual World Championships Gold medallist from Saint Kitts and Nevis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olusoji Fasuba</span> Nigerian sprinter

Olusoji Adetokunbo Fasuba is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres. He was the African record holder in the event with 9.85 seconds until Akani Simbine broke it in July 2021 with 9.84 seconds.

Sunday Bada was a Nigerian sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres event. He won three medals at the World Indoor Championships, including a gold medal in 1997. His personal best time was 44.63 seconds, and with 45.51 seconds indoor he holds the African indoor record. He set a national record in the 4 x 400 metres relay at the 2000 Olympics, where the Nigerian team also won gold medals after the disqualification of the US team who had finished first.

Matthew John "Matt" Elias is a retired Welsh athlete who specialised in the 400 metres sprint and 400 metres hurdles. During his international career he represented Great Britain. In 2003 he won a gold medal at the European Championships and at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens he finished 5th in the 4 × 400 m relay, He is also a part of Super Schools.

Mark David Hylton is a former British 400 metres sprinter. Hylton won a silver medal in the relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Shellene Williams is a retired female track and field sprinter from Jamaica. She specialized in the 200 metres and the 400 metres. Her personal best time in the women's 200 metres was 23.50 seconds, achieved in May 2004, and her 400 m best was 51.94 seconds, set in June 2004. Williams won a bronze medal in the women's 4×100 metres relay at the 2003 Pan American Games, alongside Lacena Golding-Clarke, Judyth Kitson, and Danielle Browning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muizat Ajoke Odumosu</span> Nigerian athlete

Muizat Ajoke Odumosu Alademerin is a Nigerian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. She represented Nigeria at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and competed at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2013. She was the bronze medallist at the 2007 All-Africa Games and went on to become the continental champion with a win at the 2008 and 2012 African Championships.

Colin Bradford is a Jamaican former track and field athlete who specialised in sprinting events. He represented Jamaica at the Olympic Games in 1976 and 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jereem Richards</span> Trinidad and Tobago sprinter

Jereem Richards is a Trinidadian track and field sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres and 400 metres events. He won the bronze medal in the 200 m at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics and gold for the 400 m at the 2022 World Indoor Championships. Richards took 200m titles at both the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won the bronze medal in the men's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2012 World Indoor Championships and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warren Weir</span> Jamaican sprinter

Warren Weir is a retired Jamaican sprinter, who specialized in the 200 metres. He was the bronze medallist in the event at the 2012 London Olympics, helping Jamaica sweep the medals. In 2013 at the Moscow World Championships, Warren Weir won the silver medal equalling his personal best. He finished behind Usain Bolt who set a World Leading time. His personal best is 19.79 seconds set at the National Stadium in his home country Kingston, Jamaica. He has since equalled his personal best in Moscow, in the World Championship final. He trained with the Glen Mills-coached Racers Track Club, alongside Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake.

Carl Oliver Jr. is a Bahamian former track and field sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. He is the current secretary of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations. His greatest achievements on the track came with the Bahamian 4×400 metres relay team. He was a bronze medallist in the relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics and was also a finalist at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and the 1999 World Championships in Athletics. He helped set a national record of 3:02.85 minutes at the 1995 World Championships in Athletics.

Jason Livermore is a Jamaican track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. He has personal bests of 10.05 seconds and 20.13 seconds for the distances, respectively. He was the bronze medallist in the 200 m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janieve Russell</span> Jamaican track and field athlete

Janieve Russell is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes mainly in the 400 metres hurdles and the 400 metres sprint. She won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay in Tokyo 2021, where she also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles final in a personal best of 53.08 secs. She is a four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, winning the 400m hurdles title in 2018 and 2022, and the 4 × 400 m relay in 2014 and 2018. She has also won two relay silvers at the World Championships and a relay gold at the World Indoor Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Bett</span> Kenyan hurdler

Nicholas Kiplagat Bett was a Kenyan track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres hurdles. His personal best for the event is 47.79 seconds. He was a world champion in the event, having won in 2015, and a two-time bronze medallist at the African Championships in Athletics. He died in a road accident in Kenya at the age of 28.

Patience Okon George is a Nigerian sprinter. She competed in the 400 metres event at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, China and also at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. George is a two-time African Championships bronze medallist in the individual 400 metres event. She is also a three-time Nigerian national champion in the 400 metres.

John Mair is a Jamaican former track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. He won several medals with the Jamaican relay team, taking Jamaica's first World Championships relay medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics, as well as a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1987 and two relay bronze medals at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

Joyce Yakubowich is a Canadian former track and field sprinter who competed mainly in the 200 metres and 400 metres. She was the 400 m gold medallist at the 1975 Pan American Games, where she also won relay medals. She twice represented Canada at the Summer Olympics and was a three-time Canadian national sprint champion.

Yinka Ajayi is a Nigerian sprinter specialising in the 400 metres. She was the bronze medallist at the 2018 African Championships in Asaba. Individually, she also won a bronze medal at the 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games, in addition to several relay medals. Sister to Miami Dolphins Running Back; Jay Ajayi.

Usheoritse Ese Itsekiri is a Nigerian sprinter. He was the 2018 Nigerian National Sports Festival champion and the 2019 African Games bronze medallist in the 100 metres. He also won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay at these games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigeria at the 2019 African Games</span> Sporting event delegation

Nigeria competed at the 2019 African Games held from 19 to 31 August 2019 in Rabat, Morocco. In total, 308 athletes represented Nigeria at the games. Athletes representing Nigeria won 46 gold medals, 33 silver medals and 48 bronze medals and the country finished 2nd in the medal table.

References

  1. Womack, Ray. "Chidi Okezie - Philly's Newest Triple Threat". PennTrackXC.com.
  2. "Chidi Okezie - Men's Track (Indoor/Outdoor)". Hampton University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  3. "OKEZIE WINS GOLD AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". Hampton University Athletics.
  4. "Athletics | Result Men's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 - Heat 1 - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  5. 1 2 "Athletics Results Book" (PDF). 2019 African Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
  6. "Chidi Okezie storms to 45.24s PB ahead of 2018 African Championships". The Athletic Heat. 2018-07-24. Archived from the original on 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2019-02-28.
  7. "Nevis Athletics". nb-no.facebook.com (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2019-02-28.