Seye Ogunlewe (athlete)

Adeseye "Seye" Akinola Ogunlewe (born 30 August 1991) is a Nigerian track and field sprinter who specialises in the 100 metres.[1] He was a finalist in the 100 m and 4 × 100 m at the 2015 All-Africa Games. He won the 100 m at the Nigerian Championships in 2015 and 2016.[2][3]

Seye Ogunlewe
Seye Ogunlewe at the 2018 African Championships
Personal information
Born (1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 (age 32)
Lagos, Nigeria
EducationUniversity of Essex
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2+12 in)
Weight84 kg (185 lb)
Sport
Country Nigeria
SportAthletics
Sprint100 m
Achievements and titles
Personal best100 m: 10.12 s (2016)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing  Nigeria
African Championships
Silver medal – second place2018 Asaba4 x 100 m
Updated on 27 February 2019

Early life and education

He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, the last child of Adeseye and Kemi Ogunlewe.[4][5] He attended Atlantic Hall School, Epe. He initially started out playing football but was advised to sprint by his teacher.[6] He moved to Ireland in 2008 and won the Irish Schools Championships in 2009 and 2010.[7] Ireland and Nigeria were in a race to get him to represent them at the World Junior Championships in 2010. He however eventually missed the championships. He is a Law and Politics graduate of the University of Essex.[citation needed]

Career

He placed second in the 60 m at the British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) Indoor championships in 2011 behind Sven Knipphals.[8] He remained the second-place finisher in 2012 and 2013[9] but eventually won the title in 2014. He was also the 2013 BUCS champion in the 100 m. In 2014, he was not successful in defending his title as he placed second behind Adam Gemili.[10]

Ogunlewe represented his country at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, running in the 200 m.[4] He finished 4th in his heat and did not progress to the semifinals.[4] He ran the anchor leg for Nigeria in the 4 × 100 m final at the 2015 Brazzaville African Games. The team finished second but were eventually disqualified for a faulty baton change.[11] He also reached the final in the individual 100 m.

At the 2016 Nigerian Championships, he successfully defended his national title. He won the 100 m in a personal best of 10.12 s ahead of Divine Oduduru and Ogho-oghene Egwero, and thereby qualified for the Rio Olympic Games.[12] After the championships, he used social media to lament the insufficient support of athletes by Nigerian organisations.[6] In 2019 he improved on his best time by recording a new personal record of 10.11.[13]

References