Tade Ojora
Omotade Ojora (born 14 October 1999) is a British hurdler, who won the 110 metres hurdles events at the 2021 and 2022 British Athletics Championships. He has competed in US college athletics for USC Trojans.
Personal information | |||||||||||
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Full name | Omotade Ojora | ||||||||||
Nationality | British | ||||||||||
Born | London, England | 14 October 1999||||||||||
Occupation | Runner | ||||||||||
Years active | 2019–present | ||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||
Sport | Hurdling | ||||||||||
Event(s) | 110 metres hurdles | ||||||||||
College team | USC Trojans | ||||||||||
Club | Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club | ||||||||||
Medal record
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Early life
Ojora was born in London on 14 October 1999.[1] His ancestry is in the Ojora Royal Family of Lagos, and he grew up in Nigeria.[2] He later attended Summer Fields School in Oxford[3] from the age of 8,[2] and Eton College.[2][4] In 2015, he came third in the 100 metres hurdles event at the English Schools' Athletic Association's National Championships.[4] In 2018, he came second in the 110 metres hurdles event at the same championships.[5] At Eton, he also played association football and rugby union.[1]
Career
College career
Ojora started competing for USC Trojans in 2019, and won his first two races for USC.[1] That year, he came second in the Pac-12 Conference Championship.[1] 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.[1] At the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Ojora came eighth in the 110 metres hurdles event.[6]
International career
In the United Kingdom, Ojora competes for the Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow Athletic Club.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] Later in 2021, he won the 110 metres hurdles event at the National Athletics League meeting in London.[7] 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.[10]
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,[11] and his world ranking meant that he did not qualify for the championships.[12] Ojora was selected for the 110 metres hurdles event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games;[13] it was his first international competition.[2] He was eliminated in the first round.[14]
References
- "Tade Ojora". USC Trojans. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "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.
- "Congratulations Tade Ojora, OS 2008-2013". 14 June 2021.
- "Bronze medal success in athletics championships". Eton College. 14 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "ESAA Track & Field Championships". www.esaa.net. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Mixed results from NCAA track and field championships". Daily Trojan. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Tade Ojora hopes to 'give back' to NAL". National Athletics League. 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Clock strikes on Dina Asher-Smith's British record bid". Athletics Weekly. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Olympic selection controversies as selectors disappoint worldwide". Athletics Weekly. 8 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Gold for Isabelle Boffey in European U23 Champs". Athletics Weekly. 11 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "Jeremiah Azu speeds to British 100m gold". Athletics Weekly. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- "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.
- "WSEH athletes named in Team England's Commonwealth Games squad". Slough Express. 23 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- First round results