Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu (born 17 May 1984) is a British former

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 specialised in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

, the event for which she is an Olympic,

World The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

champion. The Olympic champion in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and silver medalist in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, she is a double World Champion, having won the 400 m at the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

World Championships. She has also won six World championship medals in the women's 4 × 400 m relay as part of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team and bronze Olympic medals in the women's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Beijing Games and the 2016 Rio Games, her final Olympics. Ohuruogu shares with

Merlene Ottey Merlene Joyce Ottey (born 10 May 1960) is a Jamaican-Slovenian former track and field sprint (running), sprinter. She began her career representing Jamaica in 1978 and continued to do so for 24 years before representing Slovenia from 2002 to 20 ...

and

Usain Bolt Usain St. Leo Bolt (; born 21 August 1986) is a Jamaican retired sprinter who is widely regarded as the greatest sprinter of all time. He is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, ...

the record for medalling in most successive global championships – 9 – between the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics (, ), under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first ...

and the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

. Ohuruogu's personal best time of 49.41 seconds, set at the 2013 World Championships, beat the UK record set by Kathy Cook in 1984 by 0.02 seconds, simultaneously making her the first British woman to win two World Championship titles, and the first British woman to win three global titles (both achievements retrospectively moved to Jessica Ennis following her promotion to gold in the 2011 World Championships). Her relay bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics made her only the second British track and field athlete, after Steve Backley to win medals at three successive Olympic Games. She was coached by Lloyd Cowan. Known for her strength endurance, consistent pacing, her gift for maintaining speed in the final straight as rivals struggled and slowed, and her capacity to peak for major championships, Ohuruogu retired in 2017, a year after winning her final senior global medal, a bronze as part of the Great Britain Olympic 4 × 400 metre relay team, her 12th overall global medal. Upon retirement, Ohuruogu made public her plan to begin her second career, seeking to qualify in law, with the aim of being called to the Bar. Ohuruogu mentored

Matthew Hudson-Smith Matthew Hudson-Smith (born 26 October 1994) is a British track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres and is the 5th fastest athlete of all-time over the distance. In September 2024 he was ranked as the number one 400 m runner in ...

in 2022; their collaboration resulted in a British 400 metre record and a World Championship bronze medal, his first, for Hudson-Smith.

Biography

Born to Igbo Nigerian parents in

Newham The London Borough of Newham () is a London boroughs, London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of County Borough of West Ham, West Ham and County ...

, east London, she was raised in Stratford. She competed for

in the

London Youth Games The London Youth Games is an annual multi-sport event held in London, England. The London Youth Games offer competitive opportunities for young people aged 7 to 18 (who live or go to school in London) across approximately 30 sports every year. ...

at both netball and athletics. She was inducted into the London Youth Games Hall of Fame in 2009. Ohuruogu studied at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, where she graduated in

Linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

in 2005. She also played netball during her undergraduate studies. She has eight siblings, including Victoria Ohuruogu, a sprints competitor. She attended St. Edward's Church of England School (

Romford Romford is a large List of places in London, town in east London, east London, England, located northeast of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Havering, the town is one of the major Metropolitan centres of London, metropolitan centr ...

) and Trinity Catholic High School (Woodford Green). She resumed her education in 2017 when she started a two-year law degree course at

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

. Ohuruogu is a member of Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club. She was appointed MBE in the 2009 New Year Honours, and conferred with an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

by the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

. She is the author of the "Camp Gold" series of children's books about an elite training school for budding athletes.

Athletics career

In 2003, Ohuruogu was a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

list in 400 m at the European Junior Championships. She became the AAA champion in the 400 m in 2004, was a semi-finalist in the 400 m at the Athens Olympics of 2004, also taking part in the 4 × 400 m relay team that finished 4th. In the 2005 European Under 23 Championships she took the silver medal, losing individual gold by a hundredth of a second. She also won silver in the 4 × 400 m relay. After reaching the semi-final at the 400 m at the

she won a bronze medal in the women's 4 × 400 m relay together with Lee McConnell,

Donna Fraser Donna Karen Fraser (born 7 November 1972) in Thornton Heath, Croydon is an English former athlete, who mainly competed in the 200 and 400 m. Biography An exceptional junior, Fraser won six English Schools 200 m titles (as well as a silver ...

and Nicola Sanders. Ohuruogu won a gold medal for England in the 400 m at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

in a personal best time of 50.28 seconds, beating favourite Tonique Williams-Darling in both the semi-final and the final. She was banned for a year for missing three out-of-competition drug tests; one in October 2005 and then a further two in June 2006. Within 24 days of the end of her year-long competition suspension she returned to win the gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. Fellow British athlete, Nicola Sanders won silver with Novlene Williams of

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

third. Ohuruogu won all three of her individual races at the world championships – her heat, her semi-final and the final.

2006

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Ohuruogu missed out on a gold medal due to a mix-up caused by other members of her team. She ran the final leg in the 4 × 400 m relay for England, where the team finished over a second ahead of Australia, with Ohuruogu pulling away at the end. However, after the race the Australians were awarded the gold medal, after they protested that the English team had breached IAAF Rule 170 earlier in the race, when Tasha Danvers changed position with Tamsyn Lewis. Australian winner Jana Pittman offered the England team her gold medal, stating "They set the fastest time of the day and England are the winners of the race". Osaka07 D5A W400M finish

Ohuruogu was suspended from competing in the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

because she had committed a violation of the anti-doping code. She missed three out-of-competition drug tests, known as the "whereabouts" system, of the

World Anti-Doping Code The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; , AMA) is an international organization co-founded by the governments of over 140 nations along with the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against d ...

; one in October 2005 and then a further two in June 2006. Under

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

and

British Olympic Association The British Olympic Association (BOA; ) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It represents the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), but also incorporate represen ...

rules, she received a one-year ban for missing these tests, which expired on 5 August 2007. The final test missed occurred when Ohuruogu failed to inform the testers of a last-minute change of training venue after a double-booking. Due to the circumstances, the Independent Committee stated "There is no suggestion, nor any grounds for suspicion, that the offence may have been deliberate in order to prevent testing", and that a fair ban would have been 3 months. Ohuruogu passed tests 9 days before and 3 days after her final violation. The British Olympic Association also imposed a lifetime ban on competing at future

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

for Great Britain. She appealed to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

, but the original decision was upheld, even though CAS emphasised that there was no suspicion of doping. Ohuruogu submitted a further appeal, citing the precedent of triathlete Tim Don. Ohuruogu suggested that she would probably leave Britain and compete in the Olympics for another country if her appeal was unsuccessful, but confessed "I haven't really given it any serious thought." Her Olympic ban was overturned on 27 November 2007.

2007

A day after her ban ended, Ohuruogu was selected for the British team at the 2007 Athletics World Championships. She had only run five competitive races before the final since her suspension; however, she won the individual 400 m, taking the only gold medal for Great Britain at the Championships. Nicola Sanders won silver. Ohuruogu was also part of the bronze medal-winning team in the 400 m relay.

2008

At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing, Ohuruogu won her heat against Yulia Guschina who finished 0.18 seconds behind. She won the semi-final over

Shericka Williams Shericka Williams (born 17 September 1985 in Black River, Jamaica, Black River, St. Elizabeth) is a Jamaicans, Jamaican former Sprint (running), sprinter. Together with Novlene Williams-Mills, Ronetta Smith and Lorraine Fenton she won a silver m ...

by 0.14 seconds. In the final, she became the first ever British female Olympic 400 m champion, by beating the pre-race favourite Sanya Richards (bronze) and

(silver), with a time of 49.62s, the fastest time of 2008. In doing so, Ohuruogu won the 50th gold medal for Great Britain in athletics at the Summer Olympics. She was once again ranked No. 2 in the world over 400 m behind Sanya Richards. Ohuruogu was also part of the bronze medal-winning team in the 4 × 400 m relay, initially finishing 5th but being upgraded to 3rd place following subsequent disqualifications for drugs offences of the teams finishing in 3rd and 4th place. She won BOA Athlete of the Year at the

UK Athletics UK Athletics (UKA) is the governing body for the sport of athletics (sport), athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics o ...

Awards in 2008.

2009

In preparation for the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet court A carpet court is a type of tennis court. The Intern ...

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, Ohuruogu set personal bests in the

60 metres 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, 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 indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

and 200 m at the Birmingham Grand Prix. She competed at the 2009 Manchester City Games, finishing second in the 150 metres final in 17.10 seconds. She ran a personal best 22.85 seconds to take second place in the 200 m at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games. While she won the 400 m national title at the UKA Championships in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

that July, her times and finishes over the distance at

IAAF Golden League The IAAF Golden League was an annual series of outdoor track and field meetings organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Athletes who won specific events at all of the series meetings were awarded a jackpot prize ...

meets were unimpressive.Kessel, Anna (17 July 2009)
Christine Ohuruogu's withdrawal leaves world champ a doubt for Berlin
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. Retrieved on 23 July 2009. She had failed to break 51 seconds in the 2009 season; some distance behind world-leader Richards's best of 49.23 seconds. A hamstring problem caused her to withdraw from the

London Grand Prix The London Athletics Meet, formerly known as the London Grand Prix and subsequently as the Anniversary Games and London Diamond League, is an annual athletics event held in London, England. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix even ...

, raising doubts that she would be able to defend her World title. Ohuruogu's form improved in time for the 2009 World Championships, and she set a season's best time in her semi-final heat. She ran another season's best of 50.21s in the final, well behind Sanya Richards, who won in a time of 49.00s.

2010

Ohuruogu was ruled out of the European Championships in Barcelona with a thigh injury, and later in the year withdrew from the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

in Delhi, citing niggling injury that she did not want to aggravate.

2011

Ohuruogu was selected for the British team at the 2011 World Championships. She was disqualified from the individual 400 m after a false start.

2012

In the Indoor World Championships 4 × 400 m relay in Istanbul Ohuruogu, after legs from Shana Cox and Nicola Sanders took over in third place for Great Britain. Ohuruogu handed over to Perri Shakes-Drayton to hold off Sanya Richards-Ross to win Great Britain's first ever IAAF World Indoor Championships medal in the Women's 4 × 400 m relay. Ohuruogu won the silver medal at 400 m in the

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

. In a close race Sanya Richards-Ross held on to take the gold while Ohuruogu produced a fast finish to beat DeeDee Trotter and Amantle Montsho by just a few hundredths of a second to take the silver. Trotter finished third. Richards-Ross won in 49.55s; Ohuruogu ran a season's best time of 49.70, which is only the third time she ran under 50 seconds. Ohuruogu said she was "heartbroken" to not be able to defend her title. With her family home less than a mile away from the

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports ...

in Stratford, she had been picked out as the public face of the Games when London was awarded the Olympics in 2005, but after her suspension her image was removed from publicity material. Ohuruogu had a low-key build up to the Games, with the burden of "poster girl" falling instead on Jessica Ennis.

2013

Ohuruogu claimed a second world title on 12 August 2013, becoming the first British woman to do so, by winning the 400 m final in Moscow. A late surge helped her pip Montsho in a photo finish, and beat Kathy Cook's long-standing British record in the process, with a time of 49.41s, beating Montsho by 0.004 seconds.

2014

Ohuruogu only entered the 4 × 400 m Women's relay at the

2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was the fifteenth edition of the international indoor track and field competition, organised by the IAAF. The event was held between 7–9 March 2014 at the Ergo Arena in Sopot, Poland. Prepar ...

, alongside her sister Victoria Ohuruogu, attempting to defend the title that Great Britain had won two years earlier in Istanbul, however the team finished in bronze medal position.

2015

Despite an injury-ravaged season, Ohuruogu reached the final of the 400 m at the World Championships in Beijing, the scene of her Olympic triumph in 2008, as the defending champion. She finished in eighth place with a time of 50.63. She led off the British 4 × 400 m relay at the same championships, helping them to win a bronze medal.

2016

Ohuruogu won the bronze medal at the 4 × 400 m relay in the 2016 Rio Olympics, running the final leg. Running the first three legs were

Eilidh Doyle Eilidh Doyle (pronounced AY-lee ; née Child; born 20 February 1987) is a retired British track and field athlete. Originally running as Eilidh Child, she specialised in the 400 metres hurdles outdoors, and the 400 metres flat indoors, as well a ...

, Anyika Onuora and Emily Diamond, and they finished in a time of 3:25.88, behind the US and Jamaica.

2017 and retirement

Ohuruogu missed out on selection for the individual 400 m at the 2017 World Championships in her hometown of London, failing to advance to the final at the GB World Championship trials in June of that year after finishing third in her heat with a time which was five seconds down on her personal best. She subsequently stated that 2017 would be her last season in competition, and that she would be open to competing in the 4 × 400 m relay at the World Championships if selected. Although she was not selected for the Worlds, she did attend the Championships, supporting the British women's 4 × 400 m team that took a silver medal there, and along with her 4 × 400 m team-mates, was presented with three medals from the 2009, 2011 and 2013 Worlds after the Russian squads which had finished ahead of Team GB in those Championships were disqualified due to doping. The British teams received bronzes for

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, and a silver for

. In June 2018, on the first day of the British Athletics Championships, Ohuruogu confirmed her retirement from competition, indicating that although she did not feel ready to retire at the end of 2017 her subsequent training had been restricted due to injuries and her studies.

Personal bests

International titles

National titles

AAA Championships The AAA Championships was an annual track and field competition organised by the Amateur Athletic Association of England. It was the foremost domestic athletics event in the United Kingdom during its lifetime, despite the existence of the offi ...

**400 metres:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

British Athletics Championships The British Athletics Championships is the premier national championship in track and field held in the United Kingdom, and are organised by British Athletics. The event has doubled as the main trials meet for international team selection for maj ...

**400 metres:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohuruogu, Christine 1984 births Living people People from Stratford, London Athletes from the London Borough of Newham English female sprinters British female sprinters English children's writers Olympic female sprinters Olympic athletes for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics English Olympic competitors Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain World Athletics Championships winners World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Indoor Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships medalists European Athletics Championships winners British Athletics Championships winners AAA Championships winners English sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Members of the Order of the British Empire The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year winners Alumni of University College London Black British sportswomen 21st-century Black British women English people of Igbo descent Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 21st-century English sportswomen