Courtney Okolo (born March 15, 1994) is an American track and field sprinter who usually competes in the 400 metres. She starred at Carrollton (Texas) Newman Smith High School where she won multiple individual state championships.
Career In college, she ran for the Texas Longhorns. She was fourth in the 400 m at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and then the following year she completed an individual and relay double at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She set a collegiate record in the 400 m that year when winning the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in 50.03 seconds. In April 2016, she broke her own collegiate record, running 49.71 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold Meet. Okolo won consecutive titles in the women's 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2016 Okolo won 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay titles in both the Indoor and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. After the season ended, she was awarded the Bowerman Award. She also won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female track and field competitor in 2016.
Internationally she won both individual and relay events for the United States at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships and the 2015 NACAC Championships in Athletics. More gold came in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2016 Olympic Games.Athletics at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal life Okolo is of Nigerian descent through both her parents.
Personal records 200-meter dash – 22.93 (2015) 400-meter dash – 49.71 (2016)
International competitions 2013Pan American Junior ChampionshipsMedellín, Colombia1st400 m52.191st4 × 400 m relay3:36.482015NACAC ChampionshipsSan José, Costa Rica1st400 m51.571st4 × 400 m relay3:25.392016World Indoor ChampionshipsPortland, United States1st4 × 400 m relay3:26.38Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil1st4 × 400 m relay3:19.062017DécaNationAngers, France1st200 m23.411st400 m51.962018World Indoor ChampionshipsBirmingham, United Kingdom1st400 m50.551st4 × 400 m relay3:23.85NACAC ChampionshipsToronto, Canada4th400 m52.211st4 × 400 m relay3:26.082019World RelaysYokohama, Japan2nd4 × 400 m relay3:27.65Pan American GamesLima, Peru3rd400 m51.221st4 × 400 m relay3:26.46World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar1st (h)4 × 400 m relay3:22.962025World RelaysGuangzhou, China1st4 × 400 m mixed3:09.54
National titles NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships 400 m: 2014, 2016 4 × 400 m relay: 2014, 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Championships 400 m: 2015, 2016 4 × 400 m relay: 2015, 2016
References
External links
Women's 400m | World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018 via World Athletics on YouTube