Tade Ojora

Omotade Ojora (born 14 October 1999) is a British hurdler, who won the 110 metres hurdles events at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 British Athletics Championships. He has competed in US college athletics for USC Trojans, achieving National Collegiate Athletic Association All-American honours three times.

Tade Ojora
Personal information
Full nameOmotade Ojora
NationalityBritish
Born (1999-10-14) 14 October 1999
Lagos, Nigeria
OccupationRunner
Years active2019–present
Sport
SportHurdling
Event(s)110 metres hurdles
College teamUSC Trojans
ClubWindsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club
Medal record
British Athletics Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Manchester110 m hurdes
Gold medal – first place2022 Manchester110 m hurdes
Gold medal – first place2023 Manchester110 m hurdes

Early life

Ojora was born in Lagos, Nigeria[1] on 14 October 1999.[2] His ancestry is in the Ojora Royal Family of Lagos.[3] At the age of 8, Ojora moved to the United Kingdom,[1] where he attended Summer Fields School in Oxford.[3][4] He later attended Eton College.[3][5] In 2015, he came third in the 100 metres hurdles event at the English Schools' Athletic Association's National Championships.[5] In 2018, he came second in the 110 metres hurdles event at the same championships.[6] At Eton, he also played association football and rugby union.[2] His sister Temi is a long jumper.[1]

College career

Ojora started competing for USC Trojans in 2019, and won his first two races for USC.[2] That year, he came second in the Pac-12 Conference Championship.[2] He won the 110 metres hurdles events at the 2019 and 2021 USC-UCLA Dual Meet, and set the USC record holder for a freshman in the event.[2] At the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ojora came eighth in the 110 metres hurdles event.[7] He has received the National Collegiate Athletic Association All-American honours in 2021, 2022 and 2023, and came fourth in the 110 metres event at the 2023 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.[1]

International career

In the United Kingdom, Ojora competes for the Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club.[8] Ojora won the 110 metres hurdles event at the 2021 British Athletics Championships, in a time of 13.38 seconds, which was slower than the qualification time for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics. He was a surprise winner, as Andrew Pozzi was the favourite for the event.[9] He was not given an Olympic wildcard place, with David King being selected instead. King had a higher world ranking, as NCAA events do not count for World Athletics ranking points.[10] Later in 2021, he won the 110 metres hurdles event at the National Athletics League meeting in London.[8] At the 2021 European Athletics U23 Championships, Ojora finished fourth in the final of the 110 metres hurdles, narrowly behind third placed finisher Enrique Llopis.[11]

In 2022, Ojora defended his British title at the 2022 British Athletics Championships, in a time of 13.27 seconds. The race was run with a significant tail wind, and so Ojura could not use the time to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships,[12] and his world ranking meant that he did not qualify for the championships.[13] Ojora was selected for the 110 metres hurdles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games;[14] it was his first international competition.[3] He was eliminated in the first round.[15]

Ojora won his third 110 metres title at the 2023 British Athletics Championships.[16]

References
  1. "Meet the Ojora siblings: Proudly Nigerians, US-Educated, and donning the British colours". Pulse Sports. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. "Tade Ojora". USC Trojans. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  3. "Tade Ojora, the Nigerian 'royal' who went to Eton and now wants gold for England". The Daily Telegraph. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  4. "Congratulations Tade Ojora, OS 2008-2013". 14 June 2021.
  5. "Bronze medal success in athletics championships". Eton College. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  6. "ESAA Track & Field Championships". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  7. "Mixed results from NCAA track and field championships". Daily Trojan. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  8. "Tade Ojora hopes to 'give back' to NAL". National Athletics League. 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  9. "Clock strikes on Dina Asher-Smith's British record bid". Athletics Weekly. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  10. "Olympic selection controversies as selectors disappoint worldwide". Athletics Weekly. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  11. "Gold for Isabelle Boffey in European U23 Champs". Athletics Weekly. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  12. "Jeremiah Azu speeds to British 100m gold". Athletics Weekly. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  13. "Tade Ojora defends British 110m hurdles title – but ranking quirk denies him chance to compete on world stage". The Times. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  14. "WSEH athletes named in Team England's Commonwealth Games squad". Slough Express. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  15. First round results
  16. "Zharnel Hughes at the double!". Athletics Weekly. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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