Chioma Onyekwere Nigerian Woman to Win Gold

A discus throw expert from Nigeria, Chioma Chukwujindu Onyekwere competes in track and field. 

She has represented Nigeria in shotput and discus throw competitions at the collegiate level as well as internationally. She also holds the discus throw national record for Nigeria. In 2021, she threw the discus 63.30 meters, which was her personal best. 

Chioma Onyekwere made history on Tuesday night at the Alexandra Stadium in Birmingham by being the first Nigerian woman ever to win a gold medal in the women’s discus competition at the Commonwealth Games. Her Season’s Best throw of 61.70m was good enough to place her in first place. 

Also Read: Today in 1996: Chioma Ajunwa First African Woman to Win Olympic Gold Medal

Though she was ranked second among the throwers on parade ahead of the final, Onyekwere proved the bookmakers wrong; beating the fans’ favourite to the gold medal. 

Biography

Chioma Chukwujindu “CiCi” Onyekwere (born June 28, 1994 in Lansing, Michigan) is an American-born Nigerian track and field athlete who specializes in discus throwing. She has competed in shot put and discus throw both collegiate and internationally representing Nigeria and holds the Nigerian national record for discus throwing.

She was recognized for her academic achievements as a student athlete at the University of Maryland for four years by the Big Ten and the ACC while serving as one of the team captains.

Awards

Her collegiate honors include the All-American, All-Big Ten honors, All-Academic Big Ten, 5 Big Ten Conference Medals and the recipient of the Solomon Eye Terp of the Week. She won a gold medal for Discus Throwing at the 2018 African Championships in Asaba, Nigeria. She won another discus throwing gold medal at the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco.