Nigerian Athletes: Amene and Onwuzurike IG Live

Jan 25

Track and Field Forever featured Nigerian sprinters Udodi Onwuzurike and Dubem Amene on Instagram Live on January 22nd, 2022. They spoke about their experiences as college track athletes, training, and competing on the international stage.

Udodi Onwuzurike is a track and field sprinter, specializing in the 200m. He is a freshman at Stanford University, where he is arguably the fastest men’s recruit of all time. In his first indoor collegiate meet, he broke the school’s 60-meter record in a time of 6.67s. His other personal records include a blazing 20.21s for the 200m and 10.23s for the 100m. You can follow him on social media on Instagram and Twitter.

Dubem Amene is sprinter at the University of Michigan, who focuses on the 400m. He is a current sophomore at UMich. His personal best in the 200m is 21.25s, in the 400m is 46.04s, and his 600m is 1.17.41s. He also represents Nigeria on the international stage. You can follow him on social media on Instagram and Twitter.

Keep reading for their advice on track & field training, college, mindset, and personal experiences.

What first drew you to track and field?

Amene: I quit basketball my freshman year. And, I just needed to pick a sport that I could be really successfully at. My sister ran track, and she was really elite at that time. So, I took from her.

I started pretty late. I started with the mile and eight hundred. And, I just had a good coach. He worked with me and dropped me down, so then I was running the four.

Onwuzurike: What drew me was my older brother. He had been running track since he was in middle school. I just wanted to do what he was doing. So, I picked up track around 5th grade. And, since then, I’ve just been running.

What do you do when you are running really fast?

Amene: I don’t think I’m that fast yet. But, when I’m running, I just zone out. Just go through like you do every day in practice. Hit your marks. Hit your times. Have right form.

Onwuzurike: I think it’s the same thing. I wouldn’t say I’m thinking about going fast. I just run.

What made you decide to run in college?

Amene: So, I always wanted to be a high level athlete. I thought it was going to be basketball, so I wanted to be a high level athlete in basketball. But, then once it was track, I just wanted to be the best. And, I always wanted to be the best. Training wise, the highest level in America is college.

Onwuzurike: My brother was running track before for me. So, like, I wanted to just run since he was running. I decided I wanted to run track in college sophomore year of high school.

What was the college recruitment process like?

Onwuzurike: Mine was pretty different since it was in the middle of a pandemic. So, I had no official visits. Just, Zoom calls and calling the coaches on the phone every other day. It was pretty different. It was still good though. It had the same excitement of being able to talk to college coaches.

Amene: So, I was really late with my times. Like, I ran fast times indoor my senior year. Because I was really with the 800. Then, I dropped to the 400. I ran my first 400 my junior year. So, you have to first find the schools that you want. Then, I wanted to know what times: what times it takes to walk on, what time it takes to get a partial [scholarship], and what time it takes to get a full [scholarship].

Once you start hitting those times that these schools want, then you reach out to them or they reach out to you. But, its mainly first hitting the times. If you send an email to a school and you are not hitting their time, chances are you are not going to get a response. But, if you are hitting the times that they want, then they start to talk to you, get in conversations, and get to recruiting.

For me, when Covid just started was when I was getting recruited. Being from Michigan, I’ve always loved Michigan the most. So, when the coach reached out to me, I was just like… And, I’ve been here since.

How do you prepare for an elite competition, at either the national or world level?

Amene: I’m a big music guy because I get nervous. But, when you get the hype music, it just turns me up.

I’m all about feeling hype, like you are the best runner ever before you run because that gets you to be able to compete at a high level.

Onwuzurike: Listen to music of course. Get a good night’s rest the day before. Get good breakfast. Let my mind go. Try not to stress it.

How does it feel to be the best athlete at UMich?

Amene: Definitely not. I’m probably not even like the upper rankings. People like Jay Zeller, Job Mayhue, and Miles Brown, all of them are up there.

Why did you pick Stanford over USC?

Onwuzurike: It was just the best fit for me to be honest. Nothing too crazy.

What was the process to join your country’s national team?

Onwuzurike: I knew a guy who was already on the national team for a couple months. But it wasn’t until I ran a good race, in early July of my senior year, that someone on the national team reached out and was like “we’d love for you to be on the team.” But at the time, I was still running for the USA. So, I had to run a race under Nigeria. I think that took me two races. By then, I was a quote-on-quote Nigerian runner.

Amene: I always wanted to run for Nigeria. The USA has stiff competition, and I am Nigerian, so of course, I want to run for Nigeria. So, I just had to get the times. So, I looked at the World Athletic rankings to see what they have. After you see what times they have, you have to see what would make you competitive for that country. I had around 46.4s, and that was good enough to make their national team.

What has been the greatest challenge/difficulty to overcome so far in your career?

Amene: Junior year and sophomore year I got two hip injuries that took me out for a minute. It’s like a process where if you run back too soon, you’ll be back again. And, that’s what I did. I was rushing it my sophomore year and ended up injured again my junior ear.

It builds patience. That’s the biggest thing I’ve learned from track. Track is all about patience, especially right now in our college season. Many people are running fast in January, and of course you want to run fast in January. But, the most important time is February and March when it’s Big 10 and Nationals.

That’s the same thing I learned in high school through those injuries. I want to run fast, so I have to be patient and go through the process.

Onwuzurike: Staying healthy. I dealt with a lot of hamstring injuries my senior year of high school, so I missed out on a lot of big opportunities and meets.

What has been your favorite track and field moment so far? A particular win/race that comes to mind…

Onwuzurike: My greatest track and field memory thus far has been winning worlds this past summer (U20s). It was a great experience. Like, in the beginning of the summer, my plan was not even to run at U20s. So the fact that my season ended that way was pretty great.

Amene: Mine, so far, was the 4x400m we ran at Regionals. I was able to anchor that relay, and I went 45.5s and we were able to barely make it in. We were 11th out of the 12 that were able to make it in. So, that was a big moment.

400m Advice

Amene: Just push out hard and get into a comfortable sprint. Push out hard 60 to 80 meters. Then after that, get into a comfortable sprint were you are moving but you are relaxed, just going around. Then, it’s just coming home, keeping it strong, and keeping your form.

100m & 200m Advice

Onwuzurike: In the 100m, getting out strong. Focus on your drive phase and finish strong. For 200m, outrun the curve, eat up the stagger, and finish strong.

What’s your go to song before a race?

Amene: No Church in the Wild By Kayne West

Onwuzurike: To be honest, I don’t know.

Do you heavy lift?

Onwuzurike: I’m not a huge heavy lifter. It’s my first year in college and also my first year lifting. So, I’m starting of with the basics pretty much. I’m not throwing around any crazy weights.

Amene: Definitely scared of the weight room coming to college. Freshman year I played around in the weight room. Then, you learn that it’s important to lift. So, now I’m trying to lift heavy weight, throwing around power cleans and some squats.

Any pre-race rituals?

Onwuzurike: I like to pray before I run. Of course, stretch and warm-up. I just let my mind go.

Amene: For me, I’m big on routine. Take a shower the night before. Then, I take a shower again in the morning. I get a prayer in. Listen to gospel music early, Kayne, and then whatever is on my playlist. I just try to get as motivated as possible.

What motivates you?

Onwuzurike: My family. They have sacrificed a lot for me to be here. My coaches and everyone who has helped me get to where I am. My biggest motivation comes from myself. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be.

Amene: I’m motivated by my family. I think everyone in my family is successful. I’m self motivated, as well. Like [Onwuzurike] said, I just want to be the best version of myself. So, every day I want to push myself to be better than I was yesterday.

What would you tell your younger self?

Onwuzurike: Just keep working. Even growing up, I was good locally. But on a national level, I was never top 10. It’s easy to see that and think you are never going to make it, but just keep working.

Amene: Staying motivated. If you motivate yourself, and you push yourself everyday you will get your goals. If you can stay motivated, push yourself everyday, and push your body to the limit everyday, then you will be successful.