The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2021
- Class:
- 2016
A Bowerman Award winner and Olympic Gold Medalist, Courtney Okolo is among the most accomplished and decorated individuals in Texas Track & Field history. The former Collegiate Record-holder in the 400m (49.71), Okolo was a two-time finalist for the prestigious Bowerman Award (2104, 2016), and the first Longhorn to win that honor in 2016. The Dallas native was four-time NCAA individual champion, 16-time All-American, 11-time Big 12 Champion and was twice named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year (2014, 2016). In 2016, she earned the Honda-Broderick Award as the National Track & Field Athlete of the Year and was a finalist for the Collegiate Woman’s Athlete of the Year and the Honda Cup that year as well. Following her senior season at Texas, she earned an Olympic Gold Medal as a member of Team USA’s 4x400m relay team at the 2016 Rio Games. During her time at Texas, the Longhorns claimed a pair of Top-4 and four Top-15 finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while also collecting three Top-10 and four Top-20 finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships during her time on the Forty Acres. UT finished second in both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships her sophomore season. Okolo graduated in 2016 with a degree in exercise science. Okolo made an immediate impact at Texas, collecting five All-American honors as a freshman, three first-team honors as a member of the 4x400m relay indoors and outdoors, the 4x100m relay outdoors and finishing fourth in the individual 400m outdoors. She garnered a second-team nod in the indoor 400m. As a sophomore, she finished fourth in 400m at NCAA Indoor Championships and helped the 4x400m relay finish second in 3:27.42. That year was highlighted by winning the 400m at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship with a then-Collegiate-Record time of 50.03. That performance was followed by a pair of NCAA Championships, winning her first individual title in the 400m with a meet-record time of 50.23, then tagging on another meet record in the 4x400-meter relay with a winning mark of 3:24.21. Okolo also helped UT to a third-place finish in the 4x100-meter relay. As a junior, Okolo won the first two of her four NCAA Indoor Championships, collecting wins in the 400m and the 4x400m relay (3:28.48). Okolo’s senior season was one for the ages, marked by her performance at the LSU Alumni Gold meet in which she shattered her own collegiate 400m record with a time of 49.71. That year, she swept both the indoor and outdoor 400m titles at the NCAA Championships, while also winning the NCAA 4x400m relay crowns. Her indoor best 400-meter time of 50.59 that won the NCAA Indoor Championship remains the school record and was the third-best time in NCAA history at the time. In Big 12 competition, Okolo was an 11-time conference champion, winning five indoor titles and six outdoor crowns. Following her time on the Forty Acres, Okolo has had continued success on the track. In addition to her Olympic Gold Medal, she has won three golds in World Indoor Championship competition, with a victory in the 4x400m relay in 2016 and gold-medal performances in 2018 in the 400m and 4x400m relay. A Carrollton, Texas native and graduate of Newman Smith High School, Okolo graduated from UT in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and exercise science. The two-time Academic All-Big 12 selection continues to train as a professional athlete in Atlanta, Ga.
