Ogazi Eyes Historic NCAA Slam in 400m
Samuel Ogazi is on the brink of history. The 19-year-old Nigerian sprinter could become the first 400m runner from his country to complete a collegiate slam if he triumphs at next month’s NCAA Division I Indoor Championships.
Ogazi already boasts three major collegiate titles, the latest achieved in spectacular fashion when he stormed to an African indoor record of 44.72 seconds to win the 400m crown at the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
His blistering run also set a facility record at the R.A. ‘Murray’ Fasken ’38 Indoor Track and Field venue, while breaking a 15-year-old University of Alabama school record of 44.80 previously held by programme legend Kirani James.
Last year, Ogazi captured the NCAA Outdoor 400m title and added SEC gold in the same event.
This season, he has already secured one of the two crowns needed, and victory in Arkansas in March would give him four collegiate honors in the 400m across both indoor and outdoor seasons.
Such a feat would emulate Divine Oduduru, who between 2018 and 2019 completed an NCAA slam in the 200m by winning both Big 12 titles and NCAA Division I titles indoors and outdoors.
Ogazi also holds Alabama’s outdoor school record in the 400m with a time of 44.41 seconds. A 2025 All-American and Paris Olympian, he has earned multiple SEC Athlete of the Week honours, underscoring his dominance on the collegiate circuit.
