Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, GOIH (born 22 November 1978) is a retired Nigerian-born Portuguese sprinter, who specialized in 100 metres and 200 metres. He was the 2004 Olympic silver medalist in the 100 metres. In the same race, he set the former European record in the event at 9.86 seconds, which stood for nearly 17 years.

Biography

Obikwelu was born in

Onitsha Onitsha ( or just ''Ọ̀nị̀chà'') is a city located on the eastern bank of the Niger River, in Anambra State, Nigeria. A metropolitan city, Onitsha is known for its river port and as an economic hub for commerce, industry, and education. ...

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 ...

. At the age of 14, one of Obikwelu's football coaches noticed him and suggested he try out

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

. After two years, he represented Nigeria in the 1994 African Junior Championships and won the silver medal in the 400 metres. Obikwelu moved to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

as a 16-year-old. After being rejected by both

Sport Lisboa e Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

and

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional fo ...

, he worked as a construction worker in the

Algarve The Algarve (, , ; from ) is the southernmost NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities ( ''concelhos'' or ''municípios'' in Portuguese). The region has it ...

. He decided to learn

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, and his teacher put him in contact with sports club Belenenses, where he resumed practising. While living in Portugal, Obikwelu was adopted by a lady who he now refers to as his "mother". In July 2000, Lisbon-based Nigerian sprinter

Mercy Nku Mercy Akpanchang Nku Esimoneze (born 17 July 1976 in Boki) is a retired Nigerian sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres. Achievements Personal bests *100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and ...

said Obikwelu had decided to compete for

because of neglect by Nigerian sports officials when he was injured while representing Nigeria in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia. "He had to go to Canada to undergo an operation on his knee spending his own money." Obikwelu became a Portuguese citizen in October 2001. Obikwelu's athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in Portugal, where he is nicknamed ''Chico'', the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name.

Athletics career

Obikwelu holds the European record for the fastest time in the 100 m at 9.86 seconds. He finished second in the 100 m at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for

. He won 100 m and 200 m in 2006 at the

European Championships in Athletics The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

and became the first male athlete to win both 100 m and 200 m in the European Championship. In the qualifiers at the

Obikwelu ran two times under ten seconds, setting a national record. In the final he recovered from a non-medal position in the second half of the race to win silver, just one-hundredth of a second behind

Justin Gatlin Justin Alexander Gatlin (born February 10, 1982) is a retired American sprinter who competed in the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters. He is the 2004 Olympic Champion in the 100 meters, the 2005 and 2017 World Champion in the 100 meters, the ...

and one-hundredth ahead of Maurice Greene, beating the former European record set by

Linford Christie Linford Cicero Christie (born 2 April 1960) is a Jamaican-born British former sprinter. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World ...

in 1993. Obikwelu finished fifth in the 200m. Obikwelu was voted ''Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006'' by the

European Athletic Association The European Athletic Association (more commonly known as European Athletics) is the governing body for Sport of athletics, athletics in Europe. It is one of the six Area Associations of the world's athletics governing body World Athletics. Europe ...

, in an internet poll open to member federations, media and the general public. Obikwelu announced his retirement from competitive athletics after failing to qualify for the 100 m finals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but retracted his statement, agreeing to honour the last year of his contract with his track club. Obikwelu won the 100 m gold medal at the 2009 Lusophony Games.

Statistics

Personal bests

*All information from IAAF Profile

Awards and honours

Olympic Games

:2nd 100 m, 2004 Athens, GRE 9.86 :5th 200 m, 2004 Athens, GRE 20.14

World Championships

:2nd 4 x 100 m Relay 1997 Athens, GRE 38.07 :3rd 200 m 1999 Seville, ESP 20.11

World Indoor Championships

:3rd 200 m 1997 Paris, FRA 21.10

European Indoor Championships

:1st 60 m 2011 Paris, FRA 6.53

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

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 :1st 100 m 2008 Madrid. ESP 10.04

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

Grand Prix Final

:3rd 200 m 2001 Melbourne, AUS 20.52 :5th 100 m 2002 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.03

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 Obikwelu was the 1996 world junior champion over 100 m and 200 m.

Orders

PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Obikwelu, Francis 1978 births Living people People from Onitsha Nigerian male sprinters Portuguese male sprinters Olympic athletes of Nigeria Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Portugal Olympic silver medalists for Portugal Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Nigeria World Athletics Championships athletes for Portugal World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Portuguese people of Nigerian descent Portuguese sportspeople of African descent Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) African Games gold medalists for Nigeria African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) European Athlete of the Year winners Athletes (track and field) at the 1999 All-Africa Games Black Portuguese sportspeople World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists