Antwon Toritseju Hicks (born 12 March 1983) is an American/Nigerian

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

who competes in the

110-meter hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurd ...

. He was the gold medallist in that event at the

2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Kingston, Jamaica from July 16 to July 21, 2002. Men's Results Women's Results Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, ...

– the first American to win that title. He was twice NCAA Indoor Champion in the

60-meter hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds ( Susanna K ...

. Hicks, the son of Kimilar and Ronnie Graham, grew up in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

and attended Hot Springs High School. While there he took part in

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

and

hurdling Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

. He was a 15-time state high school champion and the 1999 American junior champion in the high jump. He attended the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment. ...

and competed for their

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford. The first was the football team, which began play in 1893. Originally known as th ...

collegiate team from 2002 to 2004. In addition to his NCAA indoor titles, he ran a school record 7.61 seconds for the 60 m hurdles. Outdoors, he was fifth in the NCAA 110 m hurdles in his freshman year and was runner-up at the 2004

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

Championships. At national level, he was a semi-finalist in the 110 m hurdles at the 2004 United States Olympic Trials, then took sixth at the

2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships The 2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was organised by USA Track & Field and held from June 23 to 26 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. The four-day competition served as the national championships in track and field for t ...

in a new personal record of 13.35 seconds. A regular participant at national events, he came close to Olympic selection on two occasions, coming fifth at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and fourth at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.Antwon Hicks
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2016-05-25. At the 2008 event he recorded his lifetime best of 13.09 seconds in the semi-finals. This time ranked him fourth in the world that year and moved him into the all-time top thirty hurdlers. The only people to run faster that year were world record holder and Olympic champion

Dayron Robles Dayron Robles (born 19 November 1986) is a Cuban track and field athlete who specialises in the 110 metre hurdles. He won his first major medal (a silver) in the 60 metres hurdles at the 2006 World Indoor Championships. He finished the 2006 se ...

and American Olympic medalists David Oliver and

Terrence Trammell Terrence Trammell (born November 23, 1978) is a retired American track and field athlete who was the silver medalist for the 110 meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics, and three time silver medalist for the World Championships. He w ...

. Hicks never competed on the global stage as a senior athlete, despite ranking near the top ten in the world in the period from 2008 to 2013. He was a prominent athlete on the professional track circuit, however, and won the

Bislett Games The Bislett Games is an annual track and field meeting at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo, Norway. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. History The first international athletics meeting at Bislet ...

during the

2009 IAAF Golden League The 2009 Golden League is the 12th edition of the IAAF's annual series of six athletics meets, held across Europe, with athletes having the chance to win the Golden League Jackpot of $1 million. Programme Results Men Women Reference ...

season. He ranked seventh at the

2009 IAAF World Athletics Final The 7th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Kaftanzoglio Stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece on September 12 and September 13, 2009. The competition represented the culmination of the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Tour, a selection of athletics m ...

. He opted to run for Nigeria late in his career. Another American hurdler,

Tyron Akins Tyron Akins (born 6 January 1986) is a US-born hurdler competing internationally for Nigeria. He switched allegiance from his country of birth to Nigeria in 2014 and has since won several medals on the continental level. His personal bests are 1 ...

, opted to do the same around this period in 2014.Americo-Nigerians Dominate Nigerian Athletics Championships
Nigeria Village Square. Retrieved on 2016-05-25.

Personal bests

110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles, or 110-metre hurdles, is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is included in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metres hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hur ...

– 13.09 (2008) *

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

– 21.52 (2005) *

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior at ...

indoor – 6.83 (2011) *

55 metres hurdles 55 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling, usually only run in indoor competitions. This is more commonly run at the high school level. The objective is to approach the first hurdle with 7 steps, each hurdle after that needs to have 3 step interv ...

indoor – 7.15 (2004) *

60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds ( Susanna K ...

indoor – 7.53 (2008) *

High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

indoor – 2.10 m (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Antwon Living people 1983 births Sportspeople from Hot Springs, Arkansas Track and field athletes from Arkansas American male hurdlers Nigerian male hurdlers African-American male track and field athletes Ole Miss Rebels men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Nigeria Olympic male hurdlers 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people