Chidi Okezie: The journey of the Nigerian sprinter who achieved the Olympic dream

Chidi Okezie: First steps into track and field

Born in August 1993, Okezie grew up in Pennsylvania, USA, where he developed a strong interest in architecture and engineering.

He discovered sprinting in 2007 and went on to make history, smashing records for Nigeria.

“Growing up, I was very into books and learning," he told Olympics.com. "But I got into trouble at school and switched to sports. I got into American Football and started running track in 2007, just before the 2008 Olympics, right around my birthday on 8 August. It was a dream come true to see me running at the Olympics.”

Okezie committed himself to his new path with relentless focus, training with the Hampton Pirates college track team under the guidance of Maurice Pierce.

Pierce, who was an experienced director of cross-country and track and field events at Hampton University Athletics, helped prepare the Nigerian for the challenges ahead through intense training sessions and strategic race preparation.

In 2012, Okezie first represented the United States at the World Junior Championships in the 4x400m relay event, eventually clinching gold at age 17 with a time of 3.03.99.

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