Onwuzurike: ‘I didn’t know I won the 200m title until I saw the clock’

Udodi Onwuzurike made history as the first Stanford University student athlete to win the 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships since 1939 after storming home first in Austin, Texas last weekend.

The 20 year old also became the third Nigerian man after Olopade Adeniken (1992) and Divine Oduduru (2019) to win the half lap title in the history of the Championships.

Onwuzurike has told Track and Field News he did not know he won the race until he saw the time on the electronic timer.

The 2021 World U20 200m champion said he knew what he had to do in the final to make the history he eventually made but admitted the race did not go as he planned it to be.

‘I didn’t even know I won it until I saw the clock. I ran really well on Wednesday, so all I could think in my head was that I had to replicate what I did and hopefully I’ll be able to win. I did not exactly replicate it, but I’m still glad with the win,’ Onwuzurike told the magazine.

The Nigerian revealed he learnt a lot from the mistakes he made all through 2022 and corrected them this year.

‘That became a common theme for me all of last season, being first at the break, and then just dying that last 100 and letting people pass me. I realized I don’t have to be the first at 100 to win the race.’

Onwuzurike has now turned his attention to the World Championships in Budapest this August, hoping to at least go a step better than he did on his debut last year.

He crashed out at the first hurdle in the 100m and at the semifinal stage in the 200m.

This year, Onwuzurike has been in great form, running inside 10 seconds twice in the 100m (9.92 and 9.98) and go under 20 seconds thrice in the 200m (19.91, 19.76 and 19.84) .