Thirty-three years after he retired from athletics, Innocent Egbunike, unarguably one of Nigeria’s best athletes and coaches, is still ranked among the All-Time Greats in the sport.
This is despite improvements in coaching, diet and nutrition, running shoes and kits that give today’s athletes a tremendous advantage.
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In a recent survey done by World Athletics, the world governing body of the sport, and Track and Field News, the American athletics magazine that athletics aficionados called the Bible of the Sports, Egbunike earned a seat to dine on the table with the All-Time Greats courtesy of a 10.15 seconds performance in the 100m, 20.42 seconds in the 200m and 44.17 seconds in the 400m, his speciality.
Being world-class in both the 100 & 200 or the 200 and 400 is tough enough, but how about those rare athletes who are great at all three events? Egbunike is one of them.
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Not surprisingly, Usain Bolt is the highest-scoring combo sprinter.
One of the current big performers is former quarter-miler Fred Kerley, who dropped to 100/200 in 2021 and 2022, producing marks good enough to bring him from outside the top 50.
Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek are also on the list.
Ditto Noah Lyles, who is ranked sixteenth, and Erriyon Knighton (Boling from No. 21 to 18 and the Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando.
Others ranked among the top 50 are Michael Johnson, Wayde van Niekerk, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Mike Marsh, Isaac Makwala, Asafa Powell, Obadele Thompson, Frank Fredericks, Dennis Mitchell, Jon Drummond, LaShawn Merritt, Justin Gatlin, Carl Lewis and Tommie Smith.
An achiever who always shies away from his achievements, either as an athlete or a coach, Egbunike believes that all glory belongs to God.
Historical background
Egbunike first competed in 1978 at the National School Sports Festival in Calabar, Cross River State, where he won a bronze medal.
In 1984, he set the African record of 10.15 seconds in the 100m. At the 1985 World University Games, he not only won the gold medal in the 200m, but he also set the then-African record of 20.42 sec.
The same year, he set the Commonwealth Games record in 400m, 44.50 seconds. And in the epic 400m final at the Nairobi’87 All Africa Games, Egbunike set a new African record of 44.23 seconds.
President of Kenya then, late Arab Moi, was so shocked and flabbergasted by Egbunike’s feat, which included beating one of his favourite athletes in the 400m final, that he said, ‘this Innocent Egbunike is not Innocent’.
That year, he voted for the African and the Nigerian Athlete of the Year.
A member of Team Nigeria contingents to many games and championships and captain of the team to the Barcelona ’92 Games, Egbunike was one of the quartet that won Nigeria’s first Olympic medal in athletics, a bronze medal at the Los Angeles 84 Olympic Games.
Egbunike and Quincy Watts are the two best quarter-milers of their era. He won a silver medal at the 1987 World Athletics Championships in the 400m in Rome, Italy.
Coaching success
As a coach, Egbunike’s resume is even brighter. He coached Davidson and Osmond Ezinwa as part of the 1992 Olympic 4 x 100 silver medal-winning team.
He coached Solomon Wariso from not running the 400 m to running 44.66, beating Roger Kingdom and representing England in the 1999 World Championships.
He also coached the Nigerian 4x400m men’s quartet to win the gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the women’s 4 x 100 to win bronze in Beijing 2008.
On the global stage, Egbunike coached Angelo Taylor to win the Olympic gold medal in 2000 and 2008.
He coached Tyree Washington to run 20.09 in the 200.
He was the coach of Chris Brown when he won the world indoor, two Olympic silver medals, and Olympic gold medals in 2012 and 2016.
Egbunike has coached in several countries like Senegal, Egypt, Cameroon, Bahamas, USA, Great Britain, Qatar and many more.
ALSO READ: Egbunike unveiled in Lagos
And the great Marline Ottey, Amadu Diaba, Calvin Smith Jr, Ajoke Odumosu, Femi Ogunode, Jamie Bauch, Fatimah Yusuf, Doris Williams, Kenny and Taiwo Aladefa, Robert Readings, and others around the world are athletes who have benefited from Egbunike coaching tutorial winning national, continental and global medals.
Egbunike is currently a lecturer and athletics coach at Pasadena College, California.
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