A perfect match - How Baylor University struck Gold with three Nigerian athletes

Shortly after the 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, the World Athletics body declared Nigeria a ‘Rising Sprinting Nation'.

This announcement was due to the outstanding performance of Team Nigeria at the Championship, where the youngsters finished third on the overall medals table with 4 Gold and 3 Bronze medals - the highest position finish for Nigeria at any global athletics championship.

A few months after Nairobi, it came as no surprise when majority of these U20 athletes gained American college scholarships to combine their education and athletics careers - One of those colleges is Baylor University.

In January 2022, Baylor University signed three Nigerian homegrown athletes for the first time in its college history, just after the junior championships in Nairobi. They are Nnamdi Chinecherem, Ezekiel Nathaniel, and Imaobong Uko.

The trio immediately made their presence known as Nathaniel’s brilliant highlight this year was winning the Big12 Championship 400m Hurdles title, clocking a jaw-dropping time of 48.42s, which smashed the School Record (SR) and Henry Amike’s long-standing Nigerian Record (NR) set in 1987.

Interestingly, Chinecherem also won the Big12 Championship title smashing Pius Bazighe’s long-standing Javelin NR of 81.08m set in 1999, with a new 81.22m, thereby becoming the second Nigerian thrower in history over the 80m mark. 

Uko was not left out of the equation, as her massive Personal Best (PB) of 51.24 qualified her for the World Championships in Oregon. She was also part of the school’s 4x400m relay quartet running a SR while winning the Big12 Championship.

Their success in the first season of competing for Baylor is highly admirable, one that is almost like a perfect match for both parties knowing they are fit for each other’s progress.

In an exclusive interview with Baylor’s Director of Track and Field, Michael Ford, on the privilege of working with these athletes, Ford talks about how pleased he has been with the athletes.

"I have been very pleased with all of them. They are great student-athletes and have adjusted quickly to being in the USA and at our university." 

When asked on the recruitment process of the university and how they know the right athletes that will fit into their program easily, he attributes the recruiting success to his assistant coaches.

"I cannot take credit for that. Coach Chak our throws coach, and Coach Dalton, the hurdles coach, assisted me in the sprints and recruited them. Of course, their athletic talent was a key, but these Christian values helped too. 

As a coach, of course, I look at marks and times,” he added. But also I look at how they perform in the big competitions. Also, academics are important. At Baylor, we are a family that wants the recruits and parents to feel we will take care of them on and off the track.”

Ford’s admiration for the trio is glaring, and he believes there is still more they can offer under their tutelage. “I think the sky's the limit for all three of them. I think the key is to stay healthy, continue being coachable and work on the small things to get better."

Meanwhile, Uko talks about her freshman start to life at Baylor and her relationship with her compatriots. 

"Just like the saying goes, there is no place like home. And you being in a place completely different from yours, having one or two persons from your place feels good because it's only them that can understand how you feel. We talk to one another a lot, figuring things out together; we are like family to each other."

The 2021 World Junior Champion in the 400m unfolds her experience being a student-athlete at the university, and her relationship with her coaches.

"Baylor is a good school when it comes to educating so I figured it's going to be the best place to get my degree. They have a good training program that helps my athletics career. I have a good relationship with my coaches here, ensuring my success," Uko stated.

And the thrower shares the same relationship sentiments about his coach, Chak. "It’s more like father and son here. We bonded well. He understands me and my body well to give me the right training program I need."

Chinecherem started throwing the Javelin in 2018, but not until 2019 that he became a national sensation after twice defeating National Champion Samuel Kufre. He went on to win the African Junior Championships title, throwing a brilliant PB and African U18/U20 Record of 74.71m, and later that year African Games Bronze medal. 

Having had a quiet 2020 season due to Covid-19 restrictions; the 20-year-old made a comeback at the World Junior Championships in Nairobi, throwing a world-leading junior mark of 78.02m in the first round, but sadly settled for Bronze in the final with a throw of 74.48m.

His performances at the junior level and the NCAA this year have brought more international attention to the sport in Nigeria. He credits his sojourn into javelin throwing to his family’s impact. 

"My people back home have always got my back. They saw the potential more than any other person. They are my pillar and have always been there for me in my struggles. When I needed money to go to meets, they were always there, especially my dad and mom. They are the reasons I did not quit when the game wave was wild for me."

And on changing the image of the sport in the country, Chinecherem says it affirms that he is living his purpose on earth. 

"There are so many rare raw talents back home like mine, it makes me feel that I never made the wrong decision, and I am on the right part of my life," the javelin throw sensation concluded.

Nathaniel was born into a family of runners. His elder brother Samson, is the reigning National Sports Festival (NSF) 400m Champion and the best male quarter-miler based in the country. While his elder sister, Glory, is a former Nigerian 400mH Champion, Olympian, and current NSF Bronze medallist.

His journey into athletics started late 2019, when the coach of his siblings came to their house and fancied his chances of being a good athlete.

“I didn’t feel like running at first. At some point, when the coach came to our house, he was like hey you, what are you doing? You have to come to the stadium and try to run," Nathaniel narrated. When I went to the stadium, he put me in the 100m and I ran a 14s. That was so annoying, Nathaniel laughs. So I went home and said I am not doing this.

At the end of 2019, I went to the stadium again, and he saw me and said do you want to run again? Reluctantly, I said let me give it a trial. When I started running, he told me he thinks I don’t have much speed, but I have much endurance, so he put me in the 800m. 

At the end of the day he decided I could probably run the 400m Hurdles. Since I started running the 400m Hurdles, I liked it. But I didn’t start proper training till 2020.”

Nathaniel did not have intentions; he was going to be at a US college just a few months after Nairobi, where he got to the final and finished fifth with a PB of 49s. He dropped his PBs in all his races through the rounds, having gone to Nairobi with a PB of 51s, and more interesting is the fact that it was his first time outside Nigeria. 

He narrated how he received a call from one of Baylor’s coaches on his way back to Nigeria. “I wasn’t expecting to travel this year, I didn’t know I will run a 49s at the World juniors. So when I got back, I got a message saying we want you to join us. I thought it was a blessing, so I packed my stuff and got ready to move. I did not expect it.”

The 19-year-old affirms that adapting to life at Baylor was very easy, saying the coaches do not put too much pressure on new athletes and just want to continue with the training program the incoming athletes have been working on. 

“When you get there, they ask what you have been doing, so it’s not like they force their programs on you. They schedule the program that suits your body, and everything kind of worked out the way I wanted it, though we are still working towards big things. Everyone works together with me, including the medical team, so it’s been good,” he added.

His relationship with his fellow Nigerian athletes and being the blueprints for furture Nigerian athletes at the college, is one he sees as a mutual understanding. 

“We motivate each other a lot, we reach out to ourselves, it is very good. It is not like we are treated differently, we are just like everyone else. They don’t make us feel like we are far away from home. At Baylor they treat everyone like family.”

Coming back home for the Nigerian Trials this year, Nathaniel did not see reasons to throw bants at his siblings that he is now a NR holder. Instead, he says they were proud of him for putting the family name on a big stage, and the Nathaniel name is going far.

What next?

There is no doubt Baylor track and field recruiting team has struck a goldmine in signing these Nigerian youngsters. The positive results they have achieved in their freshman seasons, are indications of the bright future that lies ahead of them.

Considering how young they are and the progress they are capable of under the tutelage of the coaches, Nigeria, will benefit in the long run, as they are prospective medallists at major international championships.

The trio has proven to be perfect role models for future Nigerian athletes that intend to join the college. For Bayor, they can bask in the fulfilment of hitting a goldmine when it mattered.