Lawrence Okoye (born 6 October 1991) is a British

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 eve ...

athlete and former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the l ...

. He is the British record holder in the discus event. Okoye became the first ever British athlete to win a medal in Discus at a European Championships during Munich 2022. He has also played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Personal life

Born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

in South London to

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

parents, Okoye was educated at St Mary's Roman Catholic Junior School, a

voluntary aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...

Roman Catholic state primary school in Croydon, followed by

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

for boys, also in Croydon. Okoye is an honorary member of the St Peter's College JCR, and has an offer from

the University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

to study law which he is keen to take up in the future. He played rugby union as a winger for

playing in the Daily Mail Schools Rugby Under 18 final at Twickenham in 2010, and was also a member of the academy teams of both

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. Whil ...

and London Wasps. Lawrence married Philippa Okoye in August 2014, however, the pair separated in 2017. Okoye was arrested on 6 February 2019 as part of a reverse prostitution sting in

Shelby County, Alabama Shelby County is located in the Central Alabama, central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 223,024. The county seat is Columbiana, Alabama, Columbiana. The largest city is A ...

, four days before the kickoff of the Birmingham Iron's inaugural season. The charges were later dropped.

Discus

Okoye began training full-time in the discus in September 2010 after a promising career as a junior

player. In his first international outing he came sixth in the discus throw at the

2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition for athletes under the age of 20 which was held at the Moncton Stadium in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada from 19 to 25 July 2010. A total of 44 athle ...

. He won a

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 be ...

at the

2011 European Athletics U23 Championships [] The 8th European Athletics U23 Championships were held on 14–17 July 2011 in the Městský stadion (Ostrava), Městský stadion in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Russia topped the medal table with 20 medals in total, including 9 golds (after revisi ...

in July 2011 at the age of 19. Later on that season, Okoye threw a new British record of 67.63m at the McCain Jumps & Throws Fest. He then bettered that mark with another British record of 68.24m at the Hallesche Werfertage meeting in May 2012. In the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

, Okoye competed in the discus, reaching the final with a throw of 65.28m. In the final, he finished in twelfth place with a throw of 61.03m. After the competition, he expressed disappointment with his placing in the final. After leaving American football, Okoye competed in the 2019 Anniversary Games. This was his first competition since 2012. His best result of 2019 was 60.80 m at the Olympic Stadium on 21 July 2019. In 2020, his season best was 65.15 m in Magdeburg and in 2021, 65.56 m in Winchester before he won the discus event at

2021 European Athletics Team Championships The 2021 European Athletics Team Championships was held in four cities, on 29–30 May (Super League) and on 19–20 June 2021. For the very first time, the ETC was not held on the same weekend for all leagues. At the European Athletics Team Ch ...

. In 2022 he won the Silver medal in the Birmingham Commonwealth Games and Bronze in the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

in Munich.

NFL career

2013 NFL Combine

2013 NFL Draft

In March 2013, Okoye announced his intentions to play in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

, despite having never played American football at school or university; he stated that five NFL teams expressed interest in him, and planned to sign after the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. At the NFL Super Regional Combine, Okoye ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...

in 4.78 seconds, while scoring 36 inches on the vertical jump and 10 feet, 7 inches on the broad jump. Okoye was signed on 27 April by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

San Francisco 49ers

On 27 August 2013, Okoye was placed on

Injured Reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

after sustaining an injury in the pre-season. On 31 August 2014, the 49ers announced that Okoye was added to the practice squad. On 31 August 2015, Okoye was waived in order for the 49ers to make the 53-man roster.

Arizona Cardinals

On 7 September 2015,

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play th ...

signed Okoye to their practice squad. On 21 October 2015, the Cardinals released Okoye from their practice squad. Head coach

Bruce Arians Bruce Charles Arians (born October 3, 1952) is an American football executive and former coach in the National Football League (NFL). Since 2022, he has been a senior football consultant for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Arians was previously the h ...

said that a leading reason for Okoye's release was because Okoye parked his car in Arians' parking spot at team facilities.

New York Jets

On 13 November 2015,

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The ...

signed Okoye to their practice squad. Okoye signed a reserve/future contract on 11 January 2016. The Jets released Okoye on 1 June 2016.

Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys signed Okoye on 8 June 2016, but he was released on 3 September 2016 during final roster cuts.

Chicago Bears

On 23 November 2016, Okoye was signed to the Bears' practice squad.

Miami Dolphins

On 12 January 2017, Okoye signed a reserve/future contract with the Dolphins. He was waived on 2 September 2017.

CFL career

Montreal Alouettes

On 18 September 2017, Okoye signed to the practice squad of

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a c ...

. He was put on the active roster and played his first CFL game on 29 September against the Calgary Stampeders, recording one tackle. He was released on 8 October 2017 and re-signed by the Alouettes on 19 May 2018.

AAF career

Birmingham Iron

On 12 October 2018, Okoye signed for the

Birmingham Iron The Birmingham Iron were a professional American football franchise based in Birmingham, Alabama, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), which played one season from February 2019 to April 2019. They played thei ...

of the

Alliance of American Football The Alliance of American Football (AAF) was a professional American football minor league. The AAF consisted of eight centrally owned and operated teams in the southern and western United States, seven of which were located in metropolitan area ...

ahead of the inaugural season of the League in 2019. He made the 52-man roster on 30 January 2019. He was placed on injured reserve on 20 February 2019. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

References

External links

Official website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okoye, Lawrence Living people 1991 births People from Croydon British male discus throwers English male discus throwers People educated at Whitgift School Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Great Britain English players of American football English people of Nigerian descent San Francisco 49ers players Arizona Cardinals players New York Jets players Dallas Cowboys players Chicago Bears players Miami Dolphins players Montreal Alouettes players Birmingham Iron players Track and field athletes in the National Football League Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics British Athletics Championships winners European Athletics Championships medalists Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2022 Commonwealth Games