Chidi Okezie - Misplaced Pages

Nigerian-American sprinter (born 1993)

Chidi Okezie

Okezie in 2023

Personal information

Full name

Chidi Anthony Okezie

Nationality

American, Nigerian

Born

(1993-08-08) 8 August 1993 (age 31)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Height

2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)

Weight

90 kg (198 lb)

Sport

Country

Nigeria

Sport

Running

Event

400 metres

College team

Hampton Pirates

Coached by

Maurice Pierce

Achievements and titles

Personal best

400 m: 45.24 (Nevis 2018)

Medal record

Men's athletics

Representing the United States
World Junior Championships
	2012 Barcelona	4×400 m relay
Representing Nigeria
African Games
	2023 Accra	400 m
	2019 Rabat	400 m
	2019 Rabat	4×400 m relay
	2023 Accra	4×400 m relay
African Championships
	2016 Durban	400 m
	2018 Asaba	400 m
	2018 Asaba	4 × 400 m
	2022 Saint Pierre	4 × 400 m

Chidi Anthony Okezie (born 8 August 1993) is a sprinter. Born in the United States, he competes 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. 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.

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.

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. He also won the bronze medal in the men's 400 metres.

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

Competition record

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
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
	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	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
	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	–	4 × 400 m relay	DQ
	African Championships	Asaba, Nigeria	3rd	400 m	45.65
	African Championships	Asaba, Nigeria	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:04.88
2019	African Games	Rabat, Morocco	3rd	400 m	45.61
2019	African Games	Rabat, Morocco	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:03.42
2022	African Championships	Port Louis, Mauritius	4th	200 m	21.02
2022	African Championships	Port Louis, Mauritius	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:07.05
2024	African Games	Accra, Ghana	1st	400 m	45.06
	African Games	Accra, Ghana	3rd	4 × 400 m relay	3:01.84
	African Championships	Douala, Cameroon	9th (sf)	400 m	45.96
	African Championships	Douala, Cameroon	4th	4 × 400 m relay	3:02.93
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	16th (rep)	400 m	45.92
	Olympic Games	Paris, France	–	4 × 400 m relay	DQ

National Titles

400 metres: 2015

Personal bests

Outdoor

400 metres – 45.24 (Nevis, 2018)

Indoor

200 metres – 21.02 (Boston 2016)
400 metres – 46.48 (Boston 2016)

References

"OKEZIE Chidi".
Womack, Ray. "Chidi Okezie - Philly's Newest Triple Threat". PennTrackXC.com.
"Chidi Okezie - Men's Track (Indoor/Outdoor)". Hampton University Athletics. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
"OKEZIE WINS GOLD AT WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS". Hampton University Athletics. 16 July 2012.
"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 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
^ "Athletics Results Book" (PDF). 2019 African Games. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
"Chidi Okezie storms to 45.24s PB ahead of 2018 African Championships". The Athletic Heat. 24 July 2018. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
"Nevis Athletics". nb-no.facebook.com (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 28 February 2019.

External links

v t e World U20 Champions in men's 4 × 400 metres relay
1986: United States (Campbell, Rish, Waddle, Reed, Carter) 1988: United States (Carr, Nelloms, Williams, Carrington) 1990: United States (Mills, Samuels, Harris, Nelloms) 1992: United States (Porter, Mallard, Nichols, Minor) 1994: United States (Johnson, Wheeler, Campbell, Clay, Harrison) 1996: United States (Johnson, Davis, Martin, Moore) 1998: Australia (McFarlane, Batman, Thom, Vincent, Barnwell) 2000: Jamaica (Clarke, Sappleton, Coley, Simpson, Barrett) 2002: United States (Ferguson, Williamson, Collins, Fortenberry, Jackson) 2004: United States (Johnson, Merritt, Craig, Clement, Hinnant, Ramirez) 2006: United States (Summers, Oliver, Nellum, Carter, Smith Jr., Lockhart) 2008: United States (Boyd, Miller, Wilder, Anderson, Bailey, Taylor) 2010: United States (Mance, Nolan, Verburg, Berry, Heriot, Edmonds) 2012: United States (Downing, Bailey, Okezie, Hall, Futch) 2014: United States (Lyles, Brown, Morgan, Cherry, Parish) 2016: United States (Allison, Cogdell, Montgomery, London) 2018: Italy (Gjetja, Romani, Sibilio, Scotti, Benati) 2021: Botswana (Kebinatshipi, Pesela, Masede, Majama, Gabanatlhong) 2022: United States (McElroy, Schwartzman, Bartholomew, Sumner, Blackwood, Williams) 2024: United States (Davis, Donaldson, Rhodes, Njie, Buckmiller, Clement II*)

World U20 Champions in men's 4 × 400 metres relay

1986: United States (Campbell, Rish, Waddle, Reed, Carter*)
1988: United States (Carr, Nelloms, Williams, Carrington)
1990: United States (Mills, Samuels, Harris, Nelloms)
1992: United States (Porter, Mallard, Nichols, Minor)
1994: United States (Johnson, Wheeler, Campbell, Clay, Harrison*)
1996: United States (Johnson, Davis, Martin, Moore)
1998: Australia (McFarlane, Batman, Thom, Vincent, Barnwell*)
2000: Jamaica (Clarke, Sappleton, Coley, Simpson, Barrett*)
2002: United States (Ferguson, Williamson, Collins, Fortenberry, Jackson*)
2004: United States (Johnson, Merritt, Craig, Clement, Hinnant*, Ramirez*)
2006: United States (Summers, Oliver, Nellum, Carter, Smith Jr.*, Lockhart*)
2008: United States (Boyd, Miller, Wilder, Anderson, Bailey*, Taylor*)
2010: United States (Mance, Nolan, Verburg, Berry, Heriot*, Edmonds*)
2012: United States (Downing, Bailey, Okezie, Hall, Futch*)
2014: United States (Lyles, Brown, Morgan, Cherry, Parish*)
2016: United States (Allison, Cogdell, Montgomery, London)
2018: Italy (Gjetja, Romani, Sibilio, Scotti, Benati*)
2021: Botswana (Kebinatshipi, Pesela, Masede, Majama, Gabanatlhong*)
2022: United States (McElroy, Schwartzman, Bartholomew, Sumner, Blackwood*, Williams*)
2024: United States (Davis, Donaldson, Rhodes, Njie, Buckmiller*, Clement II*)

v t e African Games champions in men's 400 metres
1965: Wilson Kiprugut (KEN) 1973: Charles Asati (KEN) 1978: Hassan El Kashief (SUD) 1987: Innocent Egbunike (NGR) 1991–95: Samson Kitur (KEN) 1999: Kennedy Ochieng (KEN) 2003: Ezra Sambu (KEN) 2007: California Molefe (BOT) 2011: Rabah Yousif (SUD) 2015: Isaac Makwala (BOT) 2019: Leungo Scotch (BOT) 2023: Chidi Okezie (NGR)

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