Cristian Amaechi Cuevas Morton (born October 30, 1989) is an American-born

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 ...

400-meter hurdler who competes for

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. He was the 2012 400 m hurdles gold medallist at the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Championships and the

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics *African Championships in Ath ...

. He has a personal record of 48.79 seconds for the event. Morton was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

to a Nigerian mother of

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

descent, Nkem Sabena Obiekwe.Crumpacker, John (2012-04-14)
Amaechi Morton, Katerina Stefanidi lead Stanford
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

''. Retrieved on 2012-07-03. He holds dual American/Nigerian citizenship.USTAF writes AFN on Amaechi’s release
. ''

The Punch ''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...

'' (2012-06-15). Retrieved on 2012-07-03. He attended

Riverwood High School Riverwood International Charter School is a charter school located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, United States. Riverwood is one of Fulton County School's four magnet sites, offering International Studies and International Baccalaureate Programs. N ...

and while there he broke the school records in the 400 m hurdles and the

400-meter dash The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is on ...

, as well as finishing second at the 2008

USATF Junior Olympics The USATF National Junior Olympic Track & Field Championships, also known as the USATF Junior Olympics, is an annual track and field competition for American athletes between the ages of seven and eighteen. It is organised by USA Track & Field and f ...

.Amaechi Morton
. Stanford Cardinal. Retrieved on 2012-07-03. He gained an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and began competing for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

in 2009. Responding to the advice of Patience Itanyi (a Nigerian Olympian), Morton opted to compete internationally for his mother's native Nigeria. In his first year at Stanford, he ran a personal best of 50.11 seconds for the 400 m hurdles, breaking the school's 28-year-old record. He came third at the

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

final and was a semi-finalist at the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

. In July, he travelled to Nigeria and came second in the 400 m dash at the national trials (running a best of 46.10 seconds).Morton Cristian
IAAF. Retrieved on 2012-07-03. He was chosen for the

4×400-meter relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

team and helped Nigeria reach the 2009 World Championships final, where they finished eighth. Returning to collegiate competition in 2010, he set a personal record of 48.94 seconds in the hurdles to finish second at the Pac-10 Championships, then earned his first

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n honours with a third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoors. He set an indoor best of 46.23 seconds over 400 m in January 2011 and was fifth in that event at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He ran a time of 49.43 for third at the Pac-10 Championships and improved one position at the NCAA Outdoors, taking second place in a season's best of 49.08 seconds. The 2012 collegiate season saw Morton develop his skills further. He ran a near-personal record (48.95) to win the Pac-10 title and also came second in the 110-meter hurdles. He went undefeated in the 400 m hurdles for Stanford that year and won the NCAA title with a best of 48.79 seconds. Morton discussed his internationally eligibility with both the

Athletics Federation of Nigeria The Athletics Federation of Nigeria is the governing body for the sport of athletics in Nigeria. It is a member of the Confederation of African Athletics and the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was founded as the Central Com ...

and

USA Track and Field USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

. He requested to run for the United States and American officials asked for his release from Nigerian duty, but ultimately he continued to represent Nigeria. At the

2012 African Championships in Athletics The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participatin ...

he won the continental

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

s in both the 400 m hurdles and in the relay. Given that he had achieved the Olympic qualifying standard, he was selected to participate for Nigeria at the 2012 Summer Olympics.Local sports digest: Stanford's Amaechi Morton makes Nigerian Olympic team
''Mercury News'' (2012-06-30). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Cristian Living people 1989 births Nigerian male hurdlers American male hurdlers Nigerian male sprinters American male sprinters Track and field athletes from Atlanta American sportspeople of Nigerian descent American people of Barbadian descent Sportspeople of Barbadian descent Stanford Cardinal men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Nigeria Olympic athletes for Nigeria Track and field athletes from California American people of Igbo descent Igbo sportspeople