Chidi Okezie
Personal information
NationalityAmerican/Nigerian
Born (1993-08-08) August 8, 1993
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Weight198 lb (90 kg)
Sport
SportRunning
Event400 metres
College teamHampton Pirates
Coached byMaurice Pierce
Achievements and titles
Personal best400 m: 45.24 (Nevis 2018)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing the  United States
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 Barcelona4×400 m relay
Representing  Nigeria
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place2016 Durban400 m
Bronze medal – third place2018 Asaba400 m
Bronze medal – third place2018 Asaba4 × 400 m
Bronze medal – third place2022 Mauritius4 × 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.

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  United States
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st 4 × 400 m relay 3:03.99
Representing  Nigeria
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 15th (h) 400 m 47.05
5th 4 × 400 m relay 3:08.55
African Championships Durban, South Africa 3rd 400 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 3rd 400 m 45.65
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:04.88
2019 African Games Rabat, Morocco 3rd 400 m 45.61
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:03.42
2022 African Championships Port Louis, Mauritius 4th 200 m 21.02
3rd 4 × 400 m relay 3:07.05

National Titles

  • 400 metres: 2015

Personal bests

Outdoor

Indoor

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.
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