Nneka Okpala (born 27 April 1988) is a New Zealand athlete. She competes mainly 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 won the New Zealand women's triple jump competition five times and the Australian women's triple jump title once. Okpala's parents emigrated from

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 ...

to New Zealand in 1987, and Okpala was born in Otahuhu, Auckland the following year. She joined the Papatoetoe Athletics Club when she was 6 years old, and when she was 15 she started competing in the triple jump. Two years later she represented New Zealand at the 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in Morocco. The same year, she also represented New Zealand at the Sydney Youth Games. In 2015, she competed at the World University Games in Korea, finishing eighth in the triple jump. Okpala competed for New Zealand, although she was studying at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

, Melbourne. Also in 2015, Okpala was named Monash University Female Athlete of the Year, and won the Essendon Athletics Club Athlete of the Year award. Okpala graduated from Monash University with a master's degree in international health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okpala, Nneka New Zealand female triple jumpers Monash University alumni New Zealand people of Nigerian descent Living people 1988 births People from Auckland