Chioma Onyekwere: 5 Things to Know about Winner of Nigeria’s First Commonwealth Discus Gold Medal

Chioma Onyekwere, the American-born Nigerian track and field athlete, set a new record at the Alexandra Stadium, Birmingham, when she won eight discus medals at the ongoing Commonwealth Games. She won three gold, one silver, and four bronze medals.

This makes her the first female and second Nigerian athlete to win the discus throw after Adewale Olukoju in the history of the championship. With 61.70m in her fourth attempt, she made Nigeria proud again.

Here is what you should know about Chioma Onyekwere, the 28 years old athlete.

Certified mechanical engineer

The Abia state descent is also a certified engineer from the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. She graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

During her academic years, she was commended as a student-athlete who displayed academic excellence while serving as a team captain by the Big Ten and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Triplet

The Nigerian athlete was born as a triplet to Chima and Scholar Onyekwere in 1994 in Lansing, Michigan. Apart from her triplet siblings: Chidinma and Chima, she has two more: Emeka and Kay.

She had her formative years in the country before relocating with her family to Fairfax, Virginia, the United States, in 2002.

She made remarkable records in high school

With the family relocating to the States, Onyekwere completed her formative years in the States. She attended James W. Robinson High School. There she harnessed her athletic skills under the tutelage of the former Maryland Thrower Beau Fay.

She became a two-time district record holder in the shot put and won multiple district championships. In 2011 and 2012, she became the regional champion. In the same year, she came third in the state and fifth in the 2012 nationals.

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Her numerous award

No doubt, Onyekwere has her awards to show for her achievements. Her first collegiate medal was in Maryland’s first season in the Big Ten Conference. Others include the All-American recognition, All-Big Ten honours, All-Academic Big Ten, 5 Big Ten Conference Medals, and Solomon Eye Terp of the Week recipient.

After college, she won the bronze medal at the 2016 African Championships in Durban, South Africa. In 2018, Onyekwere won the gold medal in the discus throw at the African Championships in Asaba, Nigeria.

The following year, she also won a gold medal in the discus throw at the African Games held in Rabat, Morocco.

Works with Ford Motors

From her LinkedIn page, Onyekwere is an Exterior Lightning Design and Release Engineer for the multinational company Ford Motors. She is also a member of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria.

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