Francis Obikwelu
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| Medal record | |||
 Francis Obikwelu |
|||
| Men's Athletics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | |||
| Silver | 2004 Athens | 100 m | |
| World Championships | |||
| Silver | 1997 Athens | 4x100 m | |
| Bronze | 1999 Seville | 200 m | |
| European Championships | |||
| Gold | 2002 Munich | 100 m | |
| Silver | 2002 Munich | 200 m | |
| Gold | 2006 Gothenburg | 100 m | |
| Gold | 2006 Gothenburg | 200 m | |
Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, born November 22, 1978 in Nigeria and a Portuguese citizen since 2001, is a sprint athlete specializing in 100 m and 200 m, who finished second in the 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for Portugal. He won 100m and 200m in 2006 at the European Championships in Athletics and became the first athlete to win both 100 and 200m in the same Euros since 1978. Kim Gevaert also succeeded in this double victory at the same Championship.
He was recently voted Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006 by the European Athletic Association, in an internet poll open to member federations, media and the general public.[1]
Contents |
[edit] From Soccer to Athletics
At the age of 14, one of Obikwelu's soccer coaches in Nigeria noticed him and suggested he try out athletics. After two years he was representing Nigeria in the 1994 African Junior Championships and won the silver medal in the 400m. [1]
[edit] From Nigeria to Portugal
He based himself in Lisbon, Portugal as a 16-year-old, after competing at the 1994 World Junior Championships. After being rejected by both SL Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, he worked for a while as a construction worker in Algarve. He decided to learn Portuguese, and his teacher put him in contact with Belenenses, where he restarted practicing. While living in Portugal, Francis was adopted by a lady who he now proudly refers to as his "mother".
He then made a decision to run for Portugal. The news was broken in July 2000 by Nigerian sprinter Mercy Nku, who like Obikwelu is based in Lisbon. She said Obikwelu took the decision because of neglect by Nigerian sports officials when he was injured while representing Nigeria in Sydney. "He had to go to Canada to undergo an operation on his knee spending his own money." He became a Portuguese citizen in October 2001.
Both his athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in his adoptive country, where he is nicknamed Chico, the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name.
He currently competes for Sporting Clube de Portugal.
More information in [2]
[edit] Athens 2004
In the qualifiers he was one of the most impressive runners, managing two times under 10 seconds (beating the Portuguese record). In the final he recovered from a non-medal position in the second half of the race to reach Silver, just one hundredth of a second behind Justin Gatlin and one hundredth ahead of Maurice Greene, managing to beat the European record set by Linford Christie in 1993.
He ended 5th in the 200 m final.
[edit] Awards and honours
[edit] Olympic Games
- 2nd 100 m, 2004 Athens, GRE 9.86
[edit] World Championships
- 2nd 4 x 100 m Relay 1997 Athens, GRE 38.07
- 3rd 200 m 1999 Seville, ESP 20.11
[edit] World Indoor Championships
- 3rd 200 m 1997 Paris, FRA 21.10
- 6th 60 m 2004 Budapest, HUN 6.60
[edit] European Championships
- 1st 100 m 2002 Munich, GER
- 2nd 200 m 2002 Munich, GER
- 1st 100 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 9.99
- 1st 200 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 20.01
[edit] Golden League
- 1st 100 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.06
- 1st 200 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 20.12
- 1st 100 m 2001 Berlin, GER 9.98
- 2nd 100 m 2002 Brussels, BEL 10.01
- 3rd 200 m 2004 Zurich, SUI 20.36
- 3rd 200 m 2004 Bergen, NOR 20.46
[edit] Grand Prix
- 1st 100 m 2002 Lausanne, SUI 10.09
- 3rd 200 m 2001 Athens, GRE 20.59
- 3rd 200 m 2001 Nice, FRA 20.41
[edit] Grand Prix Final
- 3rd 200 m 2001 Melbourne, AUS 20.52
- 5th 100 m 2002 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.03
[edit] Super Grand Prix
- 1st 200 m 2004 Madrid, ESP 20.29
- 2nd 100 m 2004 Lausanne, SUI 10.02
- 2nd 200 m 2003 Madrid, ESP 20.59
Moreover, Obikwelu was the 1996 world junior champion over 100 m and 200 m.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year 2006", European Athletic Association, 2007-01-09. Retrieved on January 9, 2007.
