Seun Ogunkoya (born 28 December 1977) is a Nigerian sprinter and two-time

African Championships An African Championship is a top level international sports competition between African athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships ;Athletics * African Championships in At ...

gold medalist over

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contest ...

Career peak

He was born in

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

and is a cousin of

Falilat Ogunkoya Falilat Ogunkoya-Osheku (born 5 December 1968 in Ode Lemo, Ogun State, Nigeria) is a Nigerian former track and field athlete who holds the distinction of becoming the first Nigerian to win an individual track and field medal at the Olympic game ...

. He improved his personal bests from 10.43 seconds in 1995 to 10.15 seconds in April 1996 in

Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popul ...

, at the 10th National Sports Festival, to 9.97 seconds in July 1997 in

Formia Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017 History ...

. He thereby became the youngest sprinter to have broken the

10-second barrier The 10-second barrier is the physical and psychological barrier of completing the 100 metres sprint in under ten seconds. The achievement is traditionally regarded as the hallmark of a world-class male sprinter. Its significance has become less im ...

at 19 years, 197 days, a record broken by

Yohan Blake Yohan Blake (born 26 December 1989) is a Jamaican sprinter specialising in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprint races. He won gold at the 100 m at the 2011 World Athletics Championships as the youngest 100 m world champion ever, and a silver me ...

(19 years, 196 days). Ogunkoya stated that "it is natural to be aiming at the world record". His coach was Tony Osheku. He competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where he was eliminated in quarter final in the 200 metres, before winning a silver medal in the 100 metres at the 1996 World Junior Championships the next month. In 1997 he reached the quarter-final at the 1997 World Championships. In the relay at the 1997 World Championships, four others participated on the Nigerian team, and ended up taking the silver medal. Ogunkoya won the 100 metres race at the 1996 African Championships and became Nigerian champion in 1996 and 1997. In 1998 he won the

Weltklasse Zürich Weltklasse Zürich ( en, World Class Zurich) is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF ...

meet with 9.96 seconds, a new personal best, before winning the 1998 African Championships in another personal best, and championship record, of 9.94 seconds. In September he finished fourth at the

IAAF Grand Prix Final The IAAF Grand Prix Final was an athletics competition featuring track and field events staged by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It was first held in 1985 and replaced in 2003 by the IAAF World Athletics Final. For the most ...

before winning the silver medal at the

1998 World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

. Here he improved his personal best time to 9.92 seconds, which was also his lifetime best, as well as a Nigerian record. He also won a bronze medal in the

4 x 100 metres relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest co ...

, with the African team. He also set personal bests of 20.50 seconds in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

, achieved in July 1997 in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, and 6.52 seconds 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 outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

, achieved in February 1998 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Later career and life

Ogunkoya ran in 10.27 seconds as a season's best in 1999. In July 2000, he ran in 10.23 seconds in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

. In the same year he was named for the Olympic squad, but fell through with an eighth and last place in his 100 metres heat. He moved to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

where he recorded a 10.72 second race in June 2003. Ogunkoya's has recently moved his career up by training young sprinters in Ondo State and has become a motivation hero leading the less privileged and young boys and girls for a better sport career. Although the death of his mother took a toll on him, after few months the hero bounce back to encourage others.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogunkoya, Seun 1977 births Living people Yoruba sportspeople People from Akure Nigerian male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Nigeria Nigerian expatriates in the Czech Republic