Nwanneka Mariauchenna "Nikki" Okwelogu (born 5 May 1995) is a Nigerian track and field athlete who competes in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

and discus throw events. She was the 2016 discus gold medalist at the African Championships in Athletics. Born in the United States, she set Ivy League records in the throws while at Harvard University.

Career

Born in Fresno, California to Nigerian parents, Nikki attended Clovis West High School where she competed in both shot put and discus. She went on to attend Harvard University from 2013 and competed for their Harvard Crimson track team. In her first year there she broke the Ivy League record in the discus with a throw of and set a school record in the shot put at .Nikki Okwelogu
Harvard Crimson. Retrieved on 2016-07-03. Her sister Nonny also became an Ivy League thrower, attending Princeton. The 2014 season saw her first national success with a shot put win at the Nigerian Athletics Championships. She made her international debut that year. At the

2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes qualifying as juniors (born 1995 or later) which was held at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, on 22–27 July 2014. A total of 44 a ...

she competed in both the shot and discus and was a shot put finalist.Nwanneka Okwelogu
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-07-03. Her first medal followed shortly after at the

2014 African Championships in Athletics The 2014 African Championships in Athletics was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 10 to 14 August 2014. The competition was the 19th edition of Africa senior championships. The competition served as preparation to African athletes for the next conti ...

, where she was narrowly fourth in the shot put but comfortably took the discus silver medal behind Chinwe Okoro. At nineteen years old, she was the youngest entrant in those competitions. She also competed at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

that summer, ending in ninth.Nwanneka Okwelogu
Glasgow2014. Retrieved on 2016-07-03. She improved her bests in the 2015 season, adding more than a meter to her shot put with a throw of and having a discus best of . Her shot put best was an Ivy League record. She placed sixth at the

2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships The 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships was the 51st NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships and the 34th NCAA Women's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships, held at the Randal Tyson Track Center i ...

. The following year she reached her first collegiate podium with third place in the shot put at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. She also was an NCAA Outdoor finalist, taking eighth. Okwelogu established herself among Africa's best throwers at the

2016 African Championships in Athletics The 20th African Championships in Athletics was held in Durban, South Africa from 22 to 26 June 2016. It was the second time that Durban and South Africa hosted this competition. 720 athletes from 43 African national federations participated. Meda ...

by taking the discus gold medal in a personal record of , which helped Nigeria to a sweep of the medals alongside 2014 champion Okoro and

Chioma Onyekwere Chioma Chukwujindu "CiCi" Onyekwere (born June 28, 1994, in Lansing, Michigan) is an American-born Nigerian track and field athlete specializing in the Discus Throw. She has competed in the shotput and discus throw both on the collegiate level and ...

. She also claimed the shot put silver medal behind Cameroon's

Auriol Dongmo Auriol Sally Dongmo Mekemnang (born 3 August 1990) is a Cameroon-born Portuguese track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus throw. She represented Cameroon at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the World Athletics Championships in ...

.Fierro, Julio (2016-06-29)
Okwelogu Shines on International Stage in African Championships
''The Harvard Crimson''. Retrieved on 2016-07-03.

International competitions

National titles

* Nigerian Athletics Championships **Shot put: 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Okwelogu, Nwanneka Living people 1995 births Athletes from Lagos Sportspeople from Fresno, California Track and field athletes from California Nigerian female discus throwers Nigerian female shot putters Commonwealth Games competitors for Nigeria Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Harvard Crimson women's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Nigeria 21st-century Nigerian women