Maria Benedicta Chigbolu
Full nameMaria Benedicta Chigbolu
NationalityItalian
SportTrack and field
EventSprint
ClubG.S. Esercito
Birth date27 July 1989 (age 37)
Birth placeRome, Italy
CountryItaly
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Pb
  • 400 m: 51.67 (2015)
  • 4x400 m: 3:25.16 (2016, )

Maria Benedicta Chigbolu (born 27 July 1989)[1] is an Italian sprinter, who specializes in the 400 metres. She competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in 4 × 400 m relay.[2]

Biography

Maria Chigbolu was born in Rome to an Italian mother and a Nigerian father. She has five siblings. Her grandfather Julius Chigbolu was a Nigerian athlete, who competed at the 1956 Summer Olympics, and later became president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria.[1] She is engaged with the Italian sprinter Matteo Galvan.[3]

Career

Besides medals in the 400 metres and 4 × 400 m relays from the 2013 and 2018 Mediterranean Games, Chigbolu won a bronze in the individual event at the 2016 European Championships.

She was a member of the 2016 Olympics squad, which set the Italian national record at the 4x400 metres with a time of 3:25.16 sec.

Chigbolu took bronze medals at the 2019 World Relays (4 × 400 m), and at the 2019 European Team Championships (400 m and 4 × 400 m).

At the Italian Championships, she won 1 time in the 400 metres (2017), 8 times in the 4 × 400 m relay, and twice in the indoor relays (4 × 200 m, 4 × 400 m).

Achievements

International competitions

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventTimeNotes
2013Mediterranean GamesMersin, Turkey2nd400 m52.66
1st4 × 400 m3.32.44
World ChampionshipsMoscow, Russia(final)4 × 400 m170.6[n 1]
2014European ChampionshipsZürich, Switzerland7th4 × 400 m3:31.31[n 2]
2015European Indoor ChampionshipsPrague, Czech Republic(heats)400 m54.17
World ChampionshipsBeijing, China(heats)400 m52.48
(heats)4 × 400 m3:27.07SB
DécaNationParis, France5th400 m52.81[4]
2016European ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands(semifinals)400 m52.69
3rd4 × 400 m3:27.49SB
Olympic GamesRio de Janeiro, Brazil(heats)400 m52.06
5th4 × 400 m3.27.05( h[n 3])
2017European Indoor ChampionshipsBelgrade, Serbia4th4 × 400 m3:32.87
European Team ChampionshipsLille, France4th400 m52.36
World ChampionshipsLondon, United Kingdom(heats)400 m53.00
(heats)4 × 400 m3:27.81SB
2018Mediterranean GamesTarragona, Spain3rd400 m52.14
1st4 × 400 m3:28.08
European ChampionshipsBerlin, Germany(semifinals)400 m52.26[n 4]
5th4 × 400 m3:28.62
2019IAAF World RelaysYokohama, Japan3rd4 × 400 m3:27.74SB
European Team ChampionshipsBydgoszcz, Poland3rd400 m52.19
3rd4 × 400 m3:27.32SB
World ChampionshipsDoha, Qatar(heats)400 m52.63
(heats)4 × 400 m3:27.57
  1. ^ Finishing the race without the baton
  2. ^ Time from the heats; Chigbolu was replaced in the final
  3. ^ Italian squad set the national record in the heats with a time of 3:25.16 sec. It would have been 3rd result in the final
  4. ^ Chigbolu clocked season's best time of 51.76 sec in the heats

National individual competitions

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maria Benedicta Chigbolu" (in Italian). Fidal.it. FIDAL. 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  2. ^ "Athletics - CHIGBOLU Maria Benedicta". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  3. ^ FQ (2018-07-02). "Giochi del Mediterraneo, chi sono le ragazze medaglia d'oro nella staffetta 4×400 diventate un simbolo sui social" (in Italian). il Fatto Quotidiano. Retrieved 2018-07-03. Reclutata nell’Esercito, ora si allena a Rieti ed è fidanzata con un quattrocentista, Matteo Galvan.
  4. ^ "DécaNation 2015 – Results" (in French). bases.athle.fr. French Athletics Federation. Retrieved 2021-06-18.