Holly Okuku
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| Born | 23 March 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Sprint | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 60m: 7.47 (Dortmund, 2023) 100m: 11.39 (Austin, 2025) 200m: 22.85 (Gainesville, 2025) 400m: 54.53 (Albuquerque, 2025) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Holly Okuku (born 23 March 2005) is a German sprinter.[1]
Biography
Okuku is from Baunatal and trained as a member of GSV Eintracht Baunatal in the district of Kassel, in Hesse.[2][3] She is the daughter of sprinter Florence Ekpo-Umoh.[4] She showed aptitude for sprinting at a young age, and was running below 12 seconds for the 100 metres as an under-14 athlete in 2019.[5]
Okuku won the silver medal with the German team in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2021 European Athletics U20 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.[6][7] In 2022, as a 17-year-old, she ran a time of 23.62 seconds for the 200 metres.[8] She won the silver medal in the 200 metres at the 2022 European Athletics U18 Championships in Jerusalem, Israel in July 2022.[9] She placed fourth with the German team in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.[10]
Following that, Okuku changed clubs, moving to join the Wetzlar Sprint Team from 1 January 2023, but with the understanding that she could continue to train in Baunatal under coach Holger Menne.[11] She won the gold medal with the German team in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2023 European Athletics U20 Championships in Jerusalem, Israel.[12][13]
Okuku ran 22.85 seconds for the 200 metres in April 2025 at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida.[8][14] Competing for the University of Texas, she was a semi-finalist at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships in June 2025 in Eugene, Oregon, in the 200 metres.[15][16] She won the bronze medal with the German team in the 4x100 metres relay at the 2025 European Athletics U23 Championships in Bergen, Norway.[17]
References
- ^ "Holly Okuku". World Athletics. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "Groppe sprintet in der Junioren-Gala". seknews. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "U20 European Championships - The DLV athletes in the preliminary rounds". Leichtathletik. July 15, 2021. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ Scholz, Martin (July 4, 2023). "German Athletics Championships: Baunatal sprinter Holly Okuku competes in Kassel". hna.de. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "Holly Okuku shines with German record time - Moritz Mainka secures ticket for Baku". hlv.de. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "Holly Okuku is Vice European Champion". Baunatal. 17 August 2021. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ a b "Holly Okuku in Gainesville well under 23 seconds". Leichtathletik. 19 April 2025. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics U18 Championships". World Athletics. 4 July 2022. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "World Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ Reichert, Sebastian (October 6, 2022). "North Hessian athletics talent Holly Okuku moves to Wetzlar". hna.de. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics U20 Championships". World Athletics. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "DLV-Sprinterinnen mit Chelsea Kadiri vom SCM holen sich das ersehnte EM-Gold in der 4x100m-Staffel". meetingpoint-jl.de. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ Broadbent, Chris (11 Jul 2025). "Bergen 2025 - Women's Track Preview". European Athletics. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ^ "NCAA Track And Field Championships Qualifiers 2025. Here's The Women's List". Flotrack. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.
- ^ "NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships". World Athletics. 14 June 2025. Retrieved 21 September 2025.
- ^ "European Athletics U23 Championships". World Athletics. 20 July 2025. Retrieved 21 Sep 2025.