Charlton Ehizuelen (born 30 November 1953) is a Nigerian former

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 ...

athlete who competed in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

. He set personal bests of and for the events, respectively. The latter mark from 1975 remains the Nigerian indoor record. As an international competitor, he became the first person to win both long jump and triple jump titles at the

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union (AU) with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (AN ...

, doing so at the 1978 Games in Algiers. He was also a double winner at the one-off

West African Games The West African Games (french: Jeux d'Afrique de l'Ouest) was an international multi-sport event between the nations of West Africa, which was held in Lagos, Nigeria in 1977. Opened on 27 August by Nigeria's head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo, ten co ...

held in 1977. At the inaugural

1977 IAAF World Cup The 1st IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held from 2 to 4 September 1977, at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Overal ...

he was a long jump bronze medallist and triple jump fourth-placer. He was one of only three members of the African team to reach the podium that year, alongside Ethiopians Miruts Yifter and

Eshetu Tura Eshetu Tura ( am, አሸቱ ቱራ; (born January 19, 1950) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance runner from Ethiopia. He won the bronze medal in 3,000 metres steeplechase at the 1980 Summer Olympics. Career Tura won a silver medal beh ...

. He represented Africa again at the

1981 IAAF World Cup The 3rd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 4–6, 1981, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Overall results M ...

, but was eighth in the long jump on that occasion.Charlton Ehizuelen
Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. His international career on the highest stage was stymied by Nigeria's boycotts of the

1976 Montreal Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

where he was a favorite for a medal and the

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

,Abdullahi, Sadiq (2012-12-05)
Sports Development in Nigeria: The Charlton Ehizuelen Story
. Nigerians in America. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. done in response to South African apartheid. Ehizuelen attended

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

and won the NCAA Division I Championship titles in the men's long jump (1975) and the men's triple jump (1974). He was the first African to win either title. He also twice won the long jump at the NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships (1976, 1977). His success in the American collegiate system came at a time of growing foreign participation in college track, with eight non-Americans winning titles at the 1975 NCAA Championships. He also competed collegiately in his native continent, winning a long jump/triple jump double at the 1975

All-Africa University Games The All-Africa University Games is a regional multi-sport event representing Africa, organized for university athletes by the Federation of Africa University Sports (FASU). The games were first held in 1975 in Accra, Ghana. History The FASU All-A ...

and defending his long jump title four years later. He remained based in the United States during his career and was the long jump winner at the

USA Indoor Track and Field Championships The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships is an annual indoor track and field competition organized by USA Track & Field, which serves as the American national championships for the sport. In years which feature a World Indoor Championships in ...

. Ehizuelen remains resident in the United States, is a member of USA Track and Field and has advocated greater support of the Nigerian diaspora to bolster the nation's sporting success.

International competitions

National titles

**Long jump: 1978 * NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships **Long jump: 1975 **Triple jump: 1974 * NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships **Long jump: 1976, 1977

Seasonal bests

*Long jump **1975: **1976: **1977: **1978: **1979: **1980: **1981: 1981 Men's Long Jump
Mennea. Retrieved on 2017-04-03.

References

External links

*
All-Athletics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ehizuelen, Charlton Living people 1953 births Nigerian male long jumpers Nigerian male triple jumpers African Games gold medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Illinois Fighting Illini men's track and field athletes Nigerian emigrants to the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 All-Africa Games 20th-century Nigerian people

International competitions

National titles

Seasonal bests

See also

References

External links