Francis Obikwelu

Obikwelu was born in Onitsha, Nigeria. At the age of 14, one of Obikwelu's football coaches noticed him and suggested he try out athletics. After two years, he represented Nigeria in the 1994 African Junior Championships and won the silver medal in the 400 metres. Obikwelu moved to Lisbon, Portugal as a 16-year-old. After being rejected by both Sport Lisboa e Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal, he worked as a construction worker in the Algarve. He decided to learn Portuguese, and his teacher put him in contact with sports club Belenenses, where he resumed practising in 1995 before signing for Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1996. While living in Portugal, Obikwelu was adopted by a lady who he now refers to as his "mother". Obikwelu's athletics achievements, his life story and his personality made him a popular figure in Portugal, where he is nicknamed Chico, the short form of the Portuguese version of his first name. ==Athletics career==

Obikwelu finished second in the 100 m at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, the first medal ever in athletics sprinting events for Portugal. In the qualifiers at the 2004 Summer Olympics he ran two times under ten seconds, setting a national record. In the final he recovered from a non-medal position in the second half of the race to win silver, just one-hundredth of a second behind Justin Gatlin and one-hundredth ahead of Maurice Greene, beating the former European record set by Linford Christie in 1993. Obikwelu finished fifth in the 200 m. He won 100 m and 200 m in 2006 at the European Championships in Athletics and became the first male athlete to win both 100 m and 200 m in the European Championship. Obikwelu was voted Waterford Crystal European Male Athlete of the Year for 2006 by the European Athletic Association, in an internet poll open to member federations, media and the general public. Obikwelu announced his retirement from competitive athletics after failing to qualify for the 100 m finals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but retracted his statement, agreeing to honour the last year of his contract with his track club. Obikwelu won the 100 m gold medal at the 2009 Lusophony Games. ==Statistics==

Personal bests As of August 2024, the highlighted time for 200 metres is a track record. • All information from IAAF Profile Awards and honours Olympic Games :2nd 100 m, 2004 Athens, GRE 9.86 :5th 200 m, 2004 Athens, GRE 20.14 World Championships :2nd 4 × 100 m Relay 1997 Athens, GRE 38.07 :3rd 200 m 1999 Seville, ESP 20.11 World Indoor Championships :3rd 200 m 1997 Paris, FRA 21.10 European Indoor Championships :1st 60 m 2011 Paris, FRA 6.53 European Championships :1st 100 m 2002 Munich, GER :2nd 200 m 2002 Munich, GER :1st 100 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 9.99 :1st 200 m 2006 Goteborg, SWE 20.01 Golden League :1st 100 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.06 :1st 200 m 2004 Saint-Denis, FRA 20.12 :1st 100 m 2001 Berlin, GER 9.98 :2nd 100 m 2002 Brussels, BEL 10.01 :3rd 200 m 2004 Zurich, SUI 20.36 :3rd 200 m 2004 Bergen, NOR 20.46 :1st 100 m 2008 Madrid. ESP 10.04 Grand Prix :1st 100 m 2002 Lausanne, SUI 10.09 :3rd 200 m 2001 Athens, GRE 20.59 :3rd 200 m 2001 Nice, FRA 20.41 Grand Prix Final :3rd 200 m 2001 Melbourne, AUS 20.52 :5th 100 m 2002 Saint-Denis, FRA 10.03 Super Grand Prix :1st 200 m 2004 Madrid, ESP 20.29 :2nd 100 m 2004 Lausanne, SUI 10.02 :2nd 200 m 2003 Madrid, ESP 20.59 Obikwelu was the 1996 world junior champion over 100 m and 200 m. Orders • Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry Track records As of September 2024, Obikwelu holds the following track records for 100 metres and 200 metres. 100 metres 200 metres ==References==