Innocent Egbunike

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Innocent Egbunike (born November 30, 1961 ) is a former Nigerian sprinter . In his specialty, the 400-meter run , he was able to achieve several international successes in the 1980s.

Life

He made his first international appearance in 1983 at the Universiade in Edmonton, where he won the gold medal over 200 m (20.42 s). At the World Athletics Championships in Helsinki in 1983 , he finished seventh over 200 m (20.63 s)

Egbunike won the Nigerian national championships over 400 m in 1985 and 1987.

At the African Athletics Championships he won gold over 200 m in Rabat in 1984 , gold over 400 m and silver over 200 m in Cairo in 1985 and gold over 400 m in Lagos in 1988 .

At the 1985 IAAF World Cup in Canberra , he successfully represented his country with a third place ahead of the victorious Michael Franks and Thomas Schönlebe .

In the same year (1985) he won the Universiade in Kobe, Japan .

At the Pan-African Games in Nairobi in 1987 , he won the gold medal in an excellent 44.23 seconds ahead of the Kenyan David Kitur and his compatriot Moses Ugbisie .

In 1987 he had two more great successes. He won the Grand Prix over 400 m. With 55 points he was clearly ahead of the runner-up, the American Danny Everett , who got 40 points. At the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Brussels, however, Everett was victorious with 45.28 seconds ahead of Egbunike in 45.34 seconds. At the World Athletics Championships in Rome , he won silver in 44.56 s behind Thomas Schönlebe (44.33 s) and left third-placed Harry Reynolds (44.80 s) well behind.

In 1988, at the sports festival in Zurich, he pulled Harry Reynolds, who was running a lane behind him, to a world record over 400 m through an extremely fast first half.

Egbunike also took part in two Olympic Games. As the final runner in his country's 4 x 400 meter relay , he won the bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1984 in 2: 59.32 min, behind the USA (2: 57.91 min) and the United Kingdom (2:59, 12 min). In 1988 in Seoul , the Nigerian relay, in which he was also represented, came in seventh place. In the individual competitions he also reached the finals in both games. In 1984 he was seventh in 45.35 s, in 1988 fifth in 44.72 s with a 0.36 second gap to a medal rank.

Innocent Egbunike is 1.74 m tall and weighed 68 kg during his active time. His trademark were noticeably strong thighs. He graduated from Pacific University in Azusa . After finishing his active career, he worked as a trainer.

Personal best

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Egbunike, Innocent
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Nigerian sprinter
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1961