Charlton Ehizuelen

{{short description|Nigerian former track and field athlete|bot=PearBOT 5}}

{{MedalTableTop|sport= Men's athletics|country_code=NGR|medals=

{{Medal|Competition|All-Africa Games}}

{{Medal|Gold |1978 Algiers|Long jump}}

{{Medal|Gold |1978 Algiers|Triple jump}}

}}

Charlton Ehizuelen (born 30 November 1953) is a Nigerian former track and field athlete who competed in the long jump and triple jump. He set personal bests of {{T&Fcalc|8.26}} and {{T&Fcalc|16.82}} for the events, respectively. The latter mark from 1975 remains the Nigerian indoor record.

As an international competitor, he became the first person to win both long jump and triple jump titles at the All-Africa Games, doing so at the 1978 Games in Algiers.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/afg.htm All-Africa Games]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. He was also a double winner at the one-off West African Games held in 1977.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/wafg.htm West African Games]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. At the inaugural 1977 IAAF World Cup he was a long jump bronze medallist and triple jump fourth-placer. He was one of only three members of the African team to reach the podium that year, alongside Ethiopians Miruts Yifter and Eshetu Tura.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/wp.htm IAAF World Cup]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. He represented Africa again at the 1981 IAAF World Cup, but was eighth in the long jump on that occasion.[http://trackfield.brinkster.net/Profile.asp?ID=1745&Gender=M Charlton Ehizuelen]. Track and Field Brinkster. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. His international career on the highest stage was stymied by Nigeria's boycotts of the 1976 Montreal Olympics where he was a favorite for a medal{{Cite web|url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/05/charlton-ehizuelen-my-journey-to-highway-victory/|title = Charlton Ehizuelen: My Journey to Highway Victory|date = 7 May 2013}} and the 1978 Commonwealth Games,Abdullahi, Sadiq (2012-12-05). [https://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/sports-development-in-nigeria-the-charlton-ehizuelen-story/ Sports Development in Nigeria: The Charlton Ehizuelen Story] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404045826/https://www.nigeriansinamerica.com/sports-development-in-nigeria-the-charlton-ehizuelen-story/ |date=2017-04-04 }}. Nigerians in America. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. done in response to South African apartheid.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/17/newsid_3555000/3555450.stm 1976: African countries boycott Olympics]. BBC Sport. Retrieved on 2017-04-03.

Ehizuelen attended University of Illinois and won the NCAA Division I Championship titles in the men's long jump (1975) and the men's triple jump (1974). He was the first African to win either title. He also twice won the long jump at the NCAA Men's Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships (1976, 1977).[http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/ncaai.htm NCAA Division I Indoor Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/ncaa.htm NCAA Outdoor Division I Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. His success in the American collegiate system came at a time of growing foreign participation in college track, with eight non-Americans winning titles at the 1975 NCAA Championships.Reid, Ron (1975-06-16). [https://www.si.com/vault/1975/06/16/606638/it-was-a-foreign-affair it Was a Foreign Affair]. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. He also competed collegiately in his native continent, winning a long jump/triple jump double at the 1975 All-Africa University Games and defending his long jump title four years later.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/afsg.htm All-Africa University Games]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03. He remained based in the United States during his career and was the long jump winner at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.[http://www.gbrathletics.com/nc/usai.htm USA Indoor Track and Field Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2017-04-03.

Ehizuelen remains resident in the United States, is a member of USA Track and Field and has advocated greater support of the Nigerian diaspora to bolster the nation's sporting success.