A day after twice breaking the school 100m record, Udodi Onwuzurike ran a new personal season’s best of 20.38s in the 200m to successfully complete a sprint double at the Stanford Invitational at Cobb Track and Angell Field in California.
The 19 year old Nigerian’s time of 20.38 is believed to be the fastest outdoor time in NCAA Division I this year, and only 0.05 off the 1978 Stanford record held by James Lofton.
Onwuzurike, who also broke the Stanford freshmen record of 20.93 by Isaiah Brandt-Sims from 2015, also nearly reached the Stanford Invite meet record of 20.33 by Washington’s Ja’Warren Hooker from 2001.
In four collegiate meets – two indoor and two outdoor – Onwuzurike owns two school records (indoor 60 and outdoor 100), the No. 2 time in the outdoor 200m and No. 9 in the 4x100m.
In the latter, the Stanford team of Simon, Miles Zoltak, Karson Lippert, and Onwuzurike ran 40.10, Stanford’s fastest time in four years.
He ran 10.07s in the 100m on Friday to set a new personal best and school record.The time is the fourth fastest by an African man so far this year and sixth fastest in the world.
His 200m time is the second fastest by an African so far after Liberia’s Joseph Fahnbulleh’s 20.22s run on April in Florida.
Onwuzurike is the fastest Nigerian over the 100 and 200m so far this year. He holds a 200m personal best of 20.21s which he ran to win the World U-20 gold in Nairobi, Kenya last year.
