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Stephen Mozia

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Stephen Mozia
Personal information
Born (1993-08-16) August 16, 1993 (age 31)
Hackensack, New Jersey, United States[1]
EducationCornell University
Height1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight124 kg (273 lb)
Sport
CountryNigeria
SportTrack and field
Event(s)Shot put
Discus Throw
College teamCornell Big Red[2]
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)Outdoor Shot Put 21.76 (2016)
Indoor Shot Put 21.11 (2016)
Discus Throw 62.80 (2014)
Medal record
African Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Marrakech Discus throw
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Durban Discus throw
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Durban Shot Put

Stephen Ogochukwu Mozia (born August 16, 1993) is a US-born Nigerian shot putter.[3] He is a three-time African Championships Bronze medallist. He also represented his country at the 2014 and 2016 World Indoor Championships, as well as the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Personal

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He was born and raised in the United States though his parents were born in Nigeria. Early in 2014, due to his dual citizenship, began competing for the Nigeria National Team.[1] He attended Hackensack High School where he was a standout athlete. He initially started out as a sprinter but decided to move to the throws because he was too slow. Mozia is a Mechanical Engineering graduate of Cornell University, where he was a member of the Quill and Dagger society. He currently works as the OT practice manager for Optiv.[4]

Career

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After winning the US Junior championships in 2012, he represented the USA at the World Junior Championships where he finished in 10th place.[5] In 2014, Mozia set college bests of 62.80 m and 20.79 m in the Discus Throw and Indoor Shot Put. His 20.79 m throw at the Ivy League Championships eclipsed Adam Nelson's Ivy League Indoor Record. He is also a two-time Ivy League Track Athlete of the Year.[6] He finished twice as runner-up in the Shot Put at the 2014 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Division 1 National Championships both times behind Ryan Crouser.

Later on in 2014, he represented Nigeria at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and then at the African Championships in Marrakech. He won a bronze medal in the Discus Throw behind South African athletes, Victor Hogan and Russel Tucker. This led to him being selected for the IAAF Continental Cup as a representative for Africa.

Mozia broke into new territory in 2016, throwing over 21 metres in the Shot Put. He threw 21.03 m to set a Nigerian indoor record and bettered that twice eventually ending the indoor season with a 21.11 m throw.[7] He however couldn't match this at the Portland Indoor Championships. In Portland, he finished in 12th place with a best of 19.84 m and had two fouls. He won Nigeria's first medal at the 2016 Durban African Championships, a bronze medal in the Shot Put. He finished behind South African Jaco Engelbrecht and Franck Elemba of the Democratic Republic of Congo.[8] He went on to win another bronze medal in the Discus Throw, again behind Hogan and Tucker of South Africa.[9]

After the Durban African Championships, he threw an outdoor PB and Nigerian Record of 20.82 m. Four days later he launched another record breaking throw of 21.27 m at the Athletics Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in Czech Republic. This was his first outdoor throw over 21 metres. He went on to better this with a 21.76 throw later in the competition. This took him up to second place in the All-Time African rankings behind Janus Robberts.[10]

In 2016 he was selected to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Jaineiro where he competed in the shot put and finished 28th overall. In addition, he has a best of 62.80 metres in the discus throw (Jacksonville 2014) which is also a Nigerian record.

Competition record

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing the  United States
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 10th Shot put (6 kg) 19.45 m
Representing  Nigeria
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 17th (q) Shot put 18.91 m
Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 14th (q) Shot put 17.76 m
African Championships Marrakech, Morocco 4th Shot put 17.65 m
3rd Discus throw 57.11 m
Continental Cup Marrakech, Morocco 7th Discus throw 57.31 m1
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 12th Shot put 19.84 m
African Championships Durban, South Africa 3rd Shot put 19.84 m
3rd Discus throw 59.16 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 28th (q) Shot put 18.98 m
2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 7th Discus throw 59.58 m

1Representing Africa

References

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  1. ^ a b 2014 CWG bio
  2. ^ College team bio
  3. ^ "Stephen Mozia". IAAF. March 19, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  4. ^ MakingOf Champs (June 23, 2016), Stephen Mozia - NGR -Shot put - Bronze Medallist at the African Championships, Durban 20, retrieved July 24, 2016
  5. ^ "Stephen Mozia - 2014-15 Men's Track and Field". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  6. ^ "Cornell's And Nigeria's 20-Year-Old Stephen Mozia Fails To Advance To Finals, But Catches Eyes Of Fellow Competitors In Men's Shot Put - LetsRun.com". March 7, 2014. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  7. ^ "Interview: Stephen Mozia". Throwers Unite. February 18, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  8. ^ "African Senior Athletics Championship: Stephen Mozia Wins Team Nigeria's 1st Medal In Shot-Put | Sahara Sport". saharareporterssport.com. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  9. ^ Olusesan, Olubode (June 24, 2016). "Mozia grabs second medal in Durban | Punch Newspapers". Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  10. ^ "Mozia extends Nigerian Shot Put record to 21.76m – AthleticsAfrica". July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
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