Samuel Ogazi secured the gold medal for Alabama in the 400-meter dash on the third day of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday in Eugene, Oregon.
Ogazi is the first Nigerian-born athlete to win the 400-meter NCAA title since Eastern Michigan’s Clement Chukwu accomplished the feat in 1999. A 2024 Olympic finalist, Ogazi finished the event a full second ahead of the next fastest runner at 44.84 seconds, though this time is slower than his program record of 44.41 seconds.
USC’s William Jones finished second with a time of 45.53 seconds, and Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s Jordan Pierre finished third with a time of 45.75 seconds. The only other SEC runner to finish in the top-9 was Texas A&M’s Auhmad Robinson, who finished seventh.
“Remember the name Samuel Ogazi!!!,” the Alabama track and field team posted on social media.
The only 400-meter runner to clock a sub-45 mark.
Remember the name Samuel Ogazi!!!#RollTide pic.twitter.com/L9R0fMa3EN
— Alabama Track & Field (@AlabamaTrack) June 14, 2025
This year’s win serves as redemption for last year’s second-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He brought home the silver medal with a time of 44.52.
He also participated in the men’s 4×400 meter relay event final on Friday, where he and his teammates Donald Chiyangwa, Peter Diebold and Oussama El Bouchayby finished sixth with a time of 3:02.17, a season best.
Alabama’s men’s team finished the national meet tied for 26th place with 13 points, ending its season.
