Francis Obikwelu
Encyclopedia
Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, born 22 November 1978 in Nigeria
and a Portuguese
citizen since 2001, is a sprint
athlete specializing in 100 metres
and 200 metres
. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds. He finished second in the 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics
in Athens
, Greece
, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for Portugal
. He won 100 m and 200 m in 2006 at the European Championships in Athletics
and became the first athlete to win both 100 m and 200 m in the same European Championship since 1978. Kim Gevaert
also succeeded in this double victory at the same Championship.
He was voted Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006 by the European Athletic Association
, in an internet poll open to member federations, media and the general public.
Obikwelu announced his retirement from competitive athletics after failing to qualify for the 100 m finals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but retracted his statement, agreeing to honour the last year of his contract with his track club. Obikwelu won the 100 m gold medal at the 2009 Lusophony Games
.
noticed him and suggested he try out athletics. After two years he was representing Nigeria in the 1994 African Junior Championships and won the silver medal in the 400 metres
.
, Portugal
, as a 16-year-old, after competing at the 1994 World Junior Championships
. After being rejected by both Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, he worked for a while as a construction worker in the Algarve. He decided to learn Portuguese
, and his teacher put him in contact with Belenenses
, where he restarted practising. While living in Portugal, Francis was adopted by a lady who he now proudly refers to as his "mother".
He then made a decision to run for Portugal. The news was broken in July 2000 by Nigerian sprinter Mercy Nku
, who like Obikwelu is based in Lisbon. She said Obikwelu took the decision because of neglect by Nigerian sports officials when he was injured while representing Nigeria in Sydney
, Australia
. "He had to go to Canada
to undergo an operation on his knee spending his own money."
He became a Portuguese citizen in October 2001.
Both his athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in his adoptive country, where he is nicknamed Chico, the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name.
He currently competes for Sporting Clube de Portugal.
and one hundredth ahead of Maurice Greene
, managing to beat the European record set by Linford Christie
in 1993. He finished fifth in the 200m.
Additionally, Obikwelu was the 1996 world junior champion over 100 m and 200 m.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
and a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
citizen since 2001, is a sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
athlete specializing in 100 metres
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
and 200 metres
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds. He finished second in the 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...
in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He won 100 m and 200 m in 2006 at the European Championships in Athletics
European Championships in Athletics
The European Athletics Championships is an event organized by the European Athletic Association. It is organised every four years, the same year as the Commonwealth Games and between the Summer Olympic Games cycle. After the 2010 Championships in Barcelona, the European Championships will take...
and became the first athlete to win both 100 m and 200 m in the same European Championship since 1978. Kim Gevaert
Kim Gevaert
Kim Gevaert is a former sprint athlete from Belgium.-Career:Her closest brush with a world title came in running 4/100 of a second behind three-time champion Gail Devers at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics...
also succeeded in this double victory at the same Championship.
He was voted Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006 by the European Athletic Association
European Athletic Association
The European Athletic Association is the European governing body for the sport of athletics.- History :In 1932, during a meeting of the International Amateur Athletic Federation in Los Angeles, a special committee was designated by the Council with the task of reviewing the conditions for the...
, in an internet poll open to member federations, media and the general public.
Obikwelu announced his retirement from competitive athletics after failing to qualify for the 100 m finals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but retracted his statement, agreeing to honour the last year of his contract with his track club. Obikwelu won the 100 m gold medal at the 2009 Lusophony Games
Athletics at the 2009 Lusophony Games
The Athletics competition at the 2009 Lusophony Games was held in the Estádio Universitário de Lisboa on July 12, July 13 and July 19, 2009.-Men's:-Women's:-Medal table:...
.
From Football to Athletics
At the age of 14, one of Obikwelu's football coaches in NigeriaNigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
noticed him and suggested he try out athletics. After two years he was representing Nigeria in the 1994 African Junior Championships and won the silver medal in the 400 metres
400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
.
From Nigeria to Portugal
He based himself in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, as a 16-year-old, after competing at the 1994 World Junior Championships
1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics
The 1994 World Junior Championships in Athletics was held in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal.-Men:-Women:-Medal table:-References:* at GBRathletics.com* from World Junior Athletics History...
. After being rejected by both Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, he worked for a while as a construction worker in the Algarve. He decided to learn Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, and his teacher put him in contact with Belenenses
CF Os Belenenses
Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known simply as Belenenses or Belenenses Lisbon, founded in 1919, is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the Belém quarter of Lisbon, hence the club name, which translates as "The ones from Belém."-History:The main activities of the...
, where he restarted practising. While living in Portugal, Francis was adopted by a lady who he now proudly refers to as his "mother".
He then made a decision to run for Portugal. The news was broken in July 2000 by Nigerian sprinter Mercy Nku
Mercy Nku
Mercy Nku is a Nigerian sprinter who specializes in the 100 metres.-Achievements:-External links:...
, who like Obikwelu is based in Lisbon. She said Obikwelu took the decision because of neglect by Nigerian sports officials when he was injured while representing Nigeria in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. "He had to go to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to undergo an operation on his knee spending his own money."
He became a Portuguese citizen in October 2001.
Both his athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in his adoptive country, where he is nicknamed Chico, the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name.
He currently competes for Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Athens 2004
In the qualifiers he was one of the most impressive runners, managing two times under ten seconds (beating the Portuguese record). In the final he recovered from a non-medal position in the second half of the race to reach Silver, just one hundredth of a second behind Justin GatlinJustin Gatlin
Justin Gatlin is an American sprinter. He is an Olympic gold medalist, with a 100 m personal best of 9.85 seconds. He served a four-year ban from track and field for testing positive for a banned substance; Gatlin had appealed the ban in 2009, but it was later denied.- Biography :Gatlin attended...
and one hundredth ahead of Maurice Greene
Maurice Greene (athlete)
Maurice Greene is a retired American track and field sprinter who specialized in the 100 meters and 200 meters. He is a former 100 m world record holder with a time of 9.79 seconds. During the height of his career he won four Olympic medals and was a five-time World Champion...
, managing to beat the European record set by Linford Christie
Linford Christie
Linford Cicero Christie OBE is a former sprinter from the United Kingdom. He is the only British man to have won gold medals in the 100 metres at all four major competitions open to British athletes: the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games...
in 1993. He finished fifth in the 200m.
Personal bests
| Event | Time (seconds) | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 metres 50 metres 50 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor athletics competitions it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
5.79 | Liévin Liévin Liévin is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.-Overview:The city of Liévin is an old mining city of Pas-de-Calais. Near Lens, this modest-sized city nevertheless has several nursery schools, schools, colleges, a university, a swimming pool, a city library, a cultural and... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
28 February 2004 |
| 60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes... |
6.53 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
5 March 2011 |
| 100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896... |
9.86 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... , Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
22 August 2004 |
| 200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first... |
19.84 | Seville Seville Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level... , Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
25 August 1999 |
| 400 metres 400 metres The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and... |
46.29 | Unknown | 3 June 1998 |
- All information from IAAF Profile
World Championships
- 2nd 4 x 100 m Relay 1997 Athens, GRE 38.07
- 3rd 200 m 1999 Seville, ESP 20.11
European Championships
- 1st 100 m 2002 Munich, GER
- 2nd 200 m 2002 Munich, GER
- 1st 100 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 9.99
- 1st 200 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 20.01
Golden League
- 1st 100 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.06
- 1st 200 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 20.12
- 1st 100 m 2001 Berlin, GER 9.98
- 2nd 100 m 2002 Brussels, BEL 10.01
- 3rd 200 m 2004 Zurich, SUI 20.36
- 3rd 200 m 2004 Bergen, NOR 20.46
- 1st 100 m 2008 Madrid. ESP 10.04
Grand Prix
- 1st 100 m 2002 Lausanne, SUI 10.09
- 3rd 200 m 2001 Athens, GRE 20.59
- 3rd 200 m 2001 Nice, FRA 20.41
Super Grand Prix
- 1st 200 m 2004 Madrid, ESP 20.29
- 2nd 100 m 2004 Lausanne, SUI 10.02
- 2nd 200 m 2003 Madrid, ESP 20.59
Additionally, Obikwelu was the 1996 world junior champion over 100 m and 200 m.