Christine Ohuruogu.html



Christine Ohuruogu

Ohuruogu at the parade in London to celebrate the achievements of British competitors at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Personal information
Date of birth	17 May 1984
Place of birth	London, Great Britain
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Club	Newham and Essex Beagles
Turned pro	2004
Achievements and titles
World finals	2007 - 1st
Olympic finals	2008 - 1st, 400m
Highest world ranking	200 m: 11 (2008) 400 m: 2 (2007/2008)
Personal best time(s)	100 m 11.35 200 m 22.94 400 m 49.61
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 400 m World Championships Gold 2007 Osaka 400 m Bronze 2005 Helsinki 4x400 m relay Bronze 2007 Osaka 4x400 m relay Commonwealth Games Gold 2006 Melbourne 400 m

Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu (born 17 May 1984) is an English sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres - the event for which she is the current Commonwealth, World and Olympic Champion. Her victory in the Beijing Games was the 50th gold medal for Great Britain in Athletics at the Olympics.

Ohuruogu's Personal Best of 49.61 ranks her third amongst British women 400m runners, behind Olympic medallists Kathy Cook and Katharine Merry.

Biography

Born to Nigerian parents in Newham, East London,¹ she was raised less than one mile from the 2012 Summer Olympics stadium in Stratford.² Ohuruogu studied at University College, London, where she graduated in Linguistics in 2005.³ She also played netball during her undergraduate studies. Christine has 8 siblings, one of whom is Victoria Ohuruogu, a top sprints competitor in her age group. She also went to St. Edwards C of E Romford Essex.

She is a member of Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club.

Ohuruogu maintains that it is her Christian faith which has sustained her through her life and career.⁴

Athletics career

In 2003 Ohuruogu was a bronze medallist at 400 m at the European Junior Championships. She became the AAA champion in the 400m in 2004, was a semi-finalist in the 400m at the Athens Olympics of 2004, also taking part in the 4 x 400 m relay team that finished 4th. In the 2005 European Under 23 Championships she took the silver medal, losing individual gold by a hundredth of a second. She also won silver in the 4 x 400 metres relay.

After reaching the semi-final at the 400 m at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics she won a bronze medal in the women's 4 x 400 metres relay together with Lee McConnell, Donna Fraser and Nicola Sanders.

She won a gold medal for England in the 400 m at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in a personal best time of 50.28 seconds, beating favourite Tonique Williams-Darling in both her semi-final and the final.⁵

Within 24 days of the end of her year-long competition suspension she returned to surprise the field and win the gold medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka. Fellow British athlete, Nicola Sanders took the silver with Novlene Williams of Jamaica in third. Ohuruogu had won all three of her individual races at the world championships - her heat, her semi-final, plus the final. The fastest woman in the world, Sanya Richards, did not qualify for the World Championships, after failing to make the United States team.

2006 Commonwealth Games Relay Controversy

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Danvers-Smith (centre) should have been the other side of Lewis (left). In the background: Sanders (back left) and Willis (back middle) had to change lanes, resulting in the 'obstruction'.

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Ohurougu ran the final leg in the 4x400 m relay for England. On the second leg with 200 m to go until the third change-over, Jamaica were leading with Australia second and England in third. The rules are that the change over athletes are to line up in order of the position at 200 m. This would have meant that Jamaica would have the inside lane, then Australia with England third from the inside. However, between 200 m and 300 m of the second leg, Nicola Sanders of England overtook Caitlin Willis meaning coming up to the third change, the English team were second, with Australia in third place. Tasha Danvers, the English athlete changed places with the Australian, Tamsyn Lewis. On the home straight, however, Willis and Sanders ran in the 2nd and 3rd lane respectively, and had to change over to pass the baton, as they were obviously aware of the rules. The English team went on to win the race, with Ohuruogu pulling away at the end.

However after the race the Australians were awarded the gold medal. The reason given was that that IAAF Rule 170 was breached when Danvers-Smith changed position with Lewis and in doing so the English team had 'obstructed' the Australians.

(RULE 170 Relay Races9. The athletes in the third and fourth legs of the 4x400m relay race shall, under the direction of a designated official, place themselves in their waiting position in the same order (inside to out) as the order of their respective team members as they complete 200m of their legs. Once the incoming athletes have passed this point, the waiting athletes shall maintain their order, and shall not exchange positions at the beginning of the take-over zone. If an athlete does not follow this Rule, his team shall be disqualified.)

Competition Suspension

Ohuruogu (in dark blue, centre) winning the 400 metres at the world championship in Osaka

Christine Ohuruogu was suspended from competing in the 2006 European Athletics Championships. The reason for this was that she missed three out of competition drugs tests, one in October 2005 and two in June 2006. According to IAAF and British Olympic Association rules, she received a one-year ban for missing these tests. The British Olympic Association also banned her from competing at future Olympic Games for Great Britain.⁶ She appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but the original decision was upheld.⁷ She appealed against her Olympic ban and it was overturned on 27 November 2007. She also stated that she would probably leave Britain and compete in the Olympics for another country if her appeal was unsuccessful.⁸⁹

Her one-year ban was completed on the original date of 5 August 2007.¹⁰

2007 Athletics World Championships

A day after her ban was finished, Ohuruogu was selected for the British team at the 2007 Athletics World Championships. Christine Ohuruogu had only run five competitive races before the final since her suspension however she managed to take the individual 400 m and secure the only gold medal for Great Britain at the Championships, while her compatriot Nicola Sanders won silver. She also took bronze in the 400m relay.

2008 Olympics

In Beijing, Ohuruogu won her heat against Yulia Guschina who finished 0.18 seconds behind and semi-final for the 400m women's race against Shericka Williams by 0.14 seconds, before taking the gold with a finish down the home straight, beating pre-race favourite Sanya Richards of the USA into bronze and Shericka Williams of Jamaica into silver, with a time of 49.62s, thus becoming Britain's first - and only - track and field Olympic champion of the 2008 Games and the first British female Olympic champion of the 400m.¹¹

Personal bests

• 200 metres - 22.94s (2008)
• 400 metres - 49.61s (2007)

See also

• List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References

External links

• Christine Ohuruogo Interview with Christianity magazine