Chinwe Okoro (born 20 June 1989) is a Nigerian

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competes in the

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

and the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

. She is a three-time African champion and holds the Nigerian record for the discus throw at .

Career

Okoro grew up in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, attending high school in Russell, and holds dual Nigerian-American citizenship. She attended the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

and combined athletics and academics as a

student-athlete Student athlete (or student–athlete) is a term used principally in universities in the United States and Canada to describe students enrolled at postsecondary educational institutions, principally colleges and universities, but also at sec ...

. She won the American junior title in the shot put in 2008 and was an NCAA

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

n in 2011. Her high marks in her

physical therapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

studies made her a five-time

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

All-Academic, and she later won the Michael Hale Scholarship to continue with her studies via a doctorate at

Bellarmine University Bellarmine University ( ; BU) is a private university, private Catholic university in Louisville, Kentucky, UNited States. It opened on October 3, 1950, as Bellarmine College, established by Archbishop John A. Floersh of the Archdiocese of Louis ...

. Her first international competition came at the

2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2008 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2008 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held in Bydgoszcz in Poland at the Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium between 8 and 13 July 2008. Previously Bydgoszcz hosted ...

, where she finished tenth in the shot put.Chinwe Okoro
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-02-27. Her first senior medals followed at the

2012 African Championships in Athletics The 2012 African Championships in Athletics was held at the Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo, Benin from 27 June to 1 July 2012. It was the first time that Benin had hosted the event. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Participatin ...

, where she won the discus throw and was runner-up to

Vivian Chukwuemeka Vivian Peters-Chukwuemeka (born 4 May 1975) is a retired Nigerian shot putter and two-time Olympian. She won the gold medal in the shot put at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and has won three consecutive titles at the All-Africa Games from 1999 to 2 ...

in the shot put in a Nigerian medal sweep. Chukwuemeka was later disqualified for doping, however, elevating Okoro to double throws champion at the event. Okoro missed the 2013 season but returned improved the year after and successfully defended her discus title 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 ...

with a championship record and personal best throw of . She was again runner-up in the shot put, with Cameroon's Auriol Dongmo Mekemnang being the women's champion on that occasion.Mulkeen, Jon (2014-08-14)
Souleiman, Ndiku and Ahoure among winners on final day of African Championships
IAAF. Retrieved on 2016-02-27. She represented Africa in both throws events at the

2014 IAAF Continental Cup The 2014 IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event that was held in Marrakech, Morocco, on 13–14 September 2014. It was the second edition of the IAAF Continental Cup since the name and format was changed from th ...

, held a month later at the same venue in

Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, and was sixth in shot put and seventh in discus. Okoro qualified for the 2016 Rio Olympics with a throw of 61.58. She represented Nigeria in the discus throw and finished 14th out of 34.

Personal bests

*Shot put: (2012) *Discus throw: (2016)

International competitions

References

External links

*
Interview
with Athletics Africa {{DEFAULTSORT:Okoro, Chinwe Living people 1989 births Track and field athletes from Kentucky Nigerian female shot putters Nigerian female discus throwers Louisville Cardinals women's track and field athletes Bellarmine University alumni American sportspeople of Nigerian descent Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Nigeria 21st-century Nigerian sportswomen