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.
In college, she ran for the Texas Longhorns.[1] 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.[2] 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 400m and 4 x 400m relay titles in both the Indoor and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. After the season ended, she was awarded the Bowerman Award.[3] She also won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female track and field competitor in 2016.[4][5]
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[6] and 2016 Olympic Games.[7]
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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2013 | Pan American Junior Championships | Medellin, Colombia | 1st | 400 m | 52.19 |
1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:36.48 | |||
2015 | NACAC Championships | San José, Costa Rica | 1st | 400 m | 51.57 |
1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:25.39 | |||
2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, United States | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.38 |
Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:19.06 | |
2017 | DécaNation | Angers, France | 1st | 200 m | 23.41 |
1st | 400 m | 51.96 | |||
2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 400 m | 50.55 |
1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:23.85 | |||
NACAC Championships | Toronto, Canada | 4th | 400 m | 52.21 | |
1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.08 | |||
2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:27.65 |
Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 3rd | 400 m | 51.22 | |
1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.46 | |||
World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 1st (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.96 |
Awards | ||
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Preceded by | The Bowerman (women's winner) 2016 |
Succeeded by |
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World Indoor Champions in women's 400 metres | |
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World Indoor Champions in women's 4 × 400 metres relay | |
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World champions in 4 × 400 metres mixed relay | |
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Pan American Champions in women's 4 × 400 metres relay | |
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US National Championship winners in women's indoor 400-meter dash | |
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1959–1979 Amateur Athletic Union |
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1980–1992 The Athletics Congress |
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1993–present USA Track & Field |
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Notes | *Distances have varied as follows: 440 yards (1959–1986), 400 meters (1987–date) alternating with 300 meters in odd numbered years starting 2015 |
2016 USA Olympic track and field team | ||
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Qualification | 2016 United States Olympic Trials (track and field) | ![]() |
Men's track and road athletes |
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Men's field athletes |
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Women's track and road athletes |
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Women's field athletes |
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Coaches |
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The Bowerman (college track & field award) | |
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Bill Bowerman (award namesake) * Tinker Hatfield (award designer) * USTFCCCA (sponsoring organization) | |
Men's Winners |
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Women's Winners |
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The Bowerman Advisory Board |
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Presentation Hosts |
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Honda Sports Award | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Division I |
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Honda Cup |
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Inspiration |
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Div II |
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Div III |
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