Quick Facts
Biography
Courtney Okolo (born March 15, 1994) is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 400 metres. She starred at Carrollton (Texas) Newman Smith High School where she won multiple individual state championships.
In college, she ran for the Texas Longhorns. She was fourth in the 400 m at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships, and then the following year she completed an individual and relay double at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She set a collegiate record in the 400 m that year when winning the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in 50.03 seconds. In April 2016, she broke her own collegiate record, running 49.71 seconds at the LSU Alumni Gold Meet. Okolo won consecutive titles in the women's 400 m and 4 × 400 m relay at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2016 Okolo won 400m and 4 x 400m relay titles in both the Indoor and 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships. After the season ended, she was awarded the Bowerman Award. She also won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's best female track and field competitor in 2016.
Internationally she won both individual and relay events for the United States at the 2013 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships and the 2015 NACAC Championships in Athletics. More gold came in the 4 × 400 m relay at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2016 Olympic Games.
Personal records
- 200-meter dash – 22.93 (2015)
- 400-meter dash – 49.71 (2016)
International competitions
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Pan American Junior Championships | Medellin, Colombia | 1st | 400 m | 52.19 |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:36.48 | |||
| 2015 | NACAC Championships | San José, Costa Rica | 1st | 400 m | 51.57 |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:25.39 | |||
| 2016 | World Indoor Championships | Portland, United States | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.38 |
| Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:19.06 | |
| 2017 | DécaNation | Angers, France | 1st | 200 m | 23.41 |
| 1st | 400 m | 51.96 | |||
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 400 m | 50.55 |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:23.85 | |||
| NACAC Championships | Toronto, Canada | 4th | 400 m | 52.21 | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.08 | |||
| 2019 | World Relays | Yokohama, Japan | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:27.65 |
| Pan American Games | Lima, Peru | 3rd | 400 m | 51.22 | |
| 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:26.46 | |||
| World Championships | Doha, Qatar | 1st (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:22.96 |
National titles
- NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships
- 400 m: 2014, 2016
- 4 × 400 m relay: 2014, 2016
- NCAA Division I Indoor Championships
- 400 m: 2015, 2016
- 4 × 400 m relay: 2015, 2016