NAIROBI, Kenya -- Stanford incoming freshman Udodi Onwuzurike dominated the men's 200 meters and rising sophomore Ellie Deligianni captured bronze in the women's 800 at the World Under-20 Track and Field Championships on Saturday.
Onwuzurike, out of Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and running for Nigeria, won in 20.21 to break the Nigerian U20 record. Onwuzurike won by a resounding 0.17 seconds over runner-up Letsile Tebogo of Botswana.
Though the 20.21 will count as a lifetime best, Onwuzurike ran 20.13 in the semifinals, though it was aided by a 2.3 meters per second wind, over the allowable 2.0 for record purposes. He also ran 20.47 in his first-round heat. In comparison, the Stanford record is 20.33, set by Pro Football Hall of Famer and track national champion James Lofton in 1978.
Deligianni, from Athens, Greece, ran 2:04.66 to earn bronze. She ran three rounds in the competition, including 2:05.38 in the first round and 2:06.41 in the semifinals.
Deligianni broke the Greek U20 record in finishing fourth at the European U20 Championships on July 17 in Tallinn, Estonia. Her time of 2:04.11 made her the No. 6 performer in Stanford history and placed her No. 3 on Stanford's all-time freshmen list.
Onwuzurike will be coached at Stanford by Jarius Cooper, who is building a strong sprint group. J.J. Clark, Stanford's Franklin P. Johnson Director of Track and Field, coaches Deligianni.
