HAMPTON, Va. (June 14, 2024) … Former Hampton track standout Chidi Okezie is set to compete for Nigeria at the 2024 Summer Olympic Game in Paris.

Okezie earned another spot on the Nigerian team after participating at the Edmonton Athletics Invitational. He set a new personal best of 44.97-seconds to win the men's 400m. Earlier, Okezie qualified for Nigeria's 4x400m relay team, along with the mixed relay squad.

Hampton track coach Maurice Pierce trained and worked with Okezie at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games in the 4x400m mixed relays.

"I'm excited for Chidi as he gets another opportunity to represent Nigeria at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games," said Coach Pierce. "He continues to add his names to the list of Olympians that we have produced here at Hampton University. I wish him Good Luck in Paris."

Hampton's All-American sprinter was awarded All-MEAC honors in both indoor and outdoor track in the 200 and 400-meter dash along with the 4x400m relay.

"I remember my first workout. We had to run four 800s. That was my freshman year, my first practice ever. I remember it like it was yesterday. Looking back at it, everything that I put in got me to where I am now," Okezie recalls.

Okezie was part of the United States 4x400m relay team that won a gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona. He reached the finals of the 400m at the 2018 Commonwealth Games while also running the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay. At the 2018 African Championships, Okezie earned a bronze medal in the 400m. He also anchored the Nigerian 4x400m relay team which earned a bronze medal.

A 2015 Hampton graduate, Okezie also has a master's degree in Sports Administration. Okezie's father is Nigerian and his mother is Jamaican. The 6-5 sprinter has nine siblings and earned the nickname Bang Bang for his explosive starts and fast finishes.