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 specializing in the
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 ...
. She has set a new US triple jump record twice.
Early life
Born in
Hoboken, New Jersey
Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...
to Nigerian parents, Orji grew up in
Mount Olive Township, New Jersey
Mount Olive Township is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 28,117,Mount Olive High School in 2014.
In 2010, Orji was a level 8 gymnast at Giant Gymnastics, Inc. in
Hackettstown, New Jersey
Hackettstown is a town in Warren County, New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 10,248.
Hackettstown was incorporated as a town by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 9, 1853, from portions of Inde ...
. At the 2010 New Jersey state championships, she performed the All-Around (Vault, Bars, Beam and Floor). Orji wanted to become an Olympic gymnast as a youth. Orji credits doing gymnastics when she was young for part of her early success. She won the 2013-2014
New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is an association of hundreds of New Jersey high schools that regulates high school athletics and holds tournaments and crowns champions in high school sports.
State championsh ...
girls track and field
Gatorade Player of the Year awards
The Gatorade Player of the Year awards are given annually to up and coming high school student-athletes in the United States. They are given for boys' baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' football, boys' a ...
. Orji defended her New Jersey Meet of Champions
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 ...
crown, set a
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
state record with a 42-6 1/2 and improved on the Morris County
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 ...
record of 20–2 in 2013. She had a high school personal best triple jump of 44 feet 11 inches She is a 2014 graduate of
Mount Olive High School (New Jersey)
Mount Olive High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Mount Olive Township, in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school ...
in
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
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 ...
2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2016 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 95th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 35th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the fourth consecutive year ...
triple jump and placed 6th in long jump. She won fan vote for 2015-2016 Bowerman Award, The Bowerman award is collegiate track & field's highest individual honor.
In 2017, she won her fifth SEC Title as a champion in the triple jump at
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...
at the 2017 SEC Indoor track and field championships where she set SEC, college,
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
, and
American records
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
surpassing 1996 US Olympian and 10 time
USATF
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 ...
national champion
Sheila Hudson
Dr. Sheila Ann Hudson (born June 30, 1967) is an American former track and field athlete and Olympian, ranked among the all-time greatest U.S. competitors in the women's triple jump. Throughout her career, she won nine U.S. triple jump titles, a ...
Quanesha Burks
Quanesha Burks (born March 15, 1995) is an American track and field athlete who mainly competes as a long jumper. She represented her country at the 2015 Pan American Games and the 2017 World Championships in Athletics. She was the gold medalist a ...
.
She won
2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 96th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 36th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the fifth consecutive year ...
triple jump title and placed 2nd in long jump behind
Georgia Lady Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
teammate and champion Kate Hall. Orji was a 2017 Bowerman Award finalist.
Orji won her seventh SEC Title as a champion in the triple jump at
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
Georgia Lady Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
teammate
Tara Davis
Tara may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena
* ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Leslie Small
* ''Tara'' (2010 film), a ...
. She won her ninth SEC Title triple jump and long jump championship titles jumping and respectively earning 20 points for the
Georgia Lady Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
where the
Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...
2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 97th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the sixth consecutive year ...
triple jump and long jump championship titles jumping and respectively earning 20 points for the
Georgia Lady Bulldogs
The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...
in
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
/
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
where the
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conferenc ...
hosted the
2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships were the 97th NCAA Men's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships and the 37th NCAA Women's Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held for the sixth consecutive year ...
.
In 2018, Orji become first woman to win eight NCAA titles in Field events. Orji was named winner of The Bowerman for the 2018 track & field seasons. She was the first three-time female finalist in award history.
Andrea Geubelle
Andrea Norris (née Geubelle; born June 26, 1991) is an American track and field athlete who competes in the long jump and triple jump. Norris won the American title in 2013. She has personal records of and , respectively.
Norris is a University ...
Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from 12 to 21 August 2016, at the Olympic Stadium. The sport of athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics was made into three distinct sets of events: track and ...
Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's triple jump
The Women's triple jump competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was held at the Olympic Stadium on 13–14 August.
Summary
Before the competition, 2015 World Champion Caterine Ibargüen of Colombia had the ...
to place fourth.
Orji was recognized as one of three finalists for The Bowerman Award presented by
USTFCCCA The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization has abo ...
, the highest collegiate honor in track and field, December 16, 2016 on Friday night in Orlando after being honored by the
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 ...
outdoor Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Mount Olive Superintendent Larrie Reynolds presented Orji with a plaque on Monday night, at a meeting which also acknowledged all fall athletes in the district. She was also presented with a "key to the city" at a township council workshop meeting on Tuesday night.
Injury forced Orji from competing in the
2017 World Championships in Athletics – Women's triple jump
The women's triple jump at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on 5 and 7 August.
Summary
The final started off with Shanieka Ricketts jumping 14.13 metres, which turned out to be her best. The ...
in
London Stadium
London Stadium (formerly and also known as Olympic Stadium and the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park) is a multi-purpose outdoor stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford district of London. It is located in the Lower Lea ...
after qualifying at
2017 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2017 USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships were held at Hornet Stadium on the campus of California State University, Sacramento in Sacramento, California. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 22–25 an ...
where Orji triple jumped to win in 95 degree heat at
Hornet Stadium (Sacramento)
Fred Anderson Field at Hornet Stadium is a 21,195-seat college football and track stadium in the western United States, on the campus of California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State). it is the home field of the Sacramento State Horne ...
. Orji was recognized as one of three finalists for The Bowerman Award presented by
USTFCCCA The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) is a New Orleans, Louisiana-based professional association representing men's and women's cross country and track & field coaches in the United States. The organization has abo ...
in 2017.
Orji opened her final year by topping her own collegiate,
NCAA Division 1
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
at
2018 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships was held from 1 to 4 March 2018 in Birmingham, United Kingdom. This was the city's second hosting of the event as it previously did so in 2003.
Bidding process
Birmingham bid for the 2016 IAAF World Indo ...
after she jumped .
Orji placed 2nd in the triple jump in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at
2018 Athletics World Cup
The 2018 Athletics World Cup was held in London, United Kingdom, from 14 to 15 July 2018. This was the first and only edition of this competition.
Each team entered one athlete per event, and points were gained on the basis of finishing position. ...
after she jumped .
Orji won
2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 2018 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at Drake Stadium on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Organized by USA Track & Field, the four-day competition took place June 21–24 and serves as the national champ ...
where Orji triple jumped setting a US Championship triple jump record.
International competitions
Personal bests
Outdoor
*Long jump – (+1.0 m/s,
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
2017)
*Triple jump – (
Clemson, South Carolina
Clemson () is a city in Pickens and Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is home to Clemson University; in 2015, ''the Princeton Review'' cited the town of Clemson as ranking #1 in the United States for " town-and-gown" ...