2015 men’s 400m National champion, Chidi Okezie is getting back to his best again after equalling his Personal Best of 45.65s to finish 2nd at the 2018 Cayman Invitational in Georgetown on Saturday.
In what was a respectable field, Okezie gave a good account of himself finishing only behind Jamaica’s Christopher Taylor who won the race clocking a lifetime’s Best of 45.24s. The 19-year-old Jamaican was on a class of his own, running a spectacular race that saw him dominate to the finish.
Javon Francis finished 3rd racing to a time of 46.06s, while veteran American sprinter, Vernon Norwood came in 4th with a time of 46.25s.
The first time that Okezie ran 45.65s was two years ago at a meet in New York, no doubt he would be excited that he’s been able to reproduce that again as he aims to better the time.
For Okezie, it shows that he could still get to that 2015 height, when as a newcomer to the scene he stunned everyone to claim the Nigerian title, running the race of his life from lane 8 to secure the win.
Okezie since then has had some good moments running for Nigeria, with the most remarkable being the 400m Bronze he won at the 2016 African Athletics Championships (AAC) in Durban.
With the AAC coming up next two months in Asaba, Okezie will be hoping to still finish on the podium and to further lower his PB as the season progresses.
