Abdul Karim Amu

By the age of 17, Amu was already a good athlete. He was educated at King's College where his athletic ability brought national attention.[1] His first major international competition was the 1954 Commonwealth Games hosted by Vancouver. He competed in the 100m, 200m and 4 × 100 m relay events; he was part of Nigeria's relay team that clocked 41.3 to earn a silver at the games. In the 220 yard, he reached the semi-final. In 1956, he was a member of the University of Ibadan athletic club when he represented Nigeria at the 1956 Summer Olympics in the 400 and 4 x 100 relay events. Nigeria did not medal at the event and the relay team which was formidable dropped the baton and did not finish. In 1960, he was the vice-captain of the Nigerian athletics team to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, once again, he was in the 400m and 4 × 100 m relay team. He reached the semi-finals of the 400m event but the relay team had a baton mixup in the semi-final and did not finish.

In 1964, he was captain of the athletics team to the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Amu set a national record in the 220 yard dash that lasted for 16 years.[1]

• Abdul Karim Amu at the Commonwealth Games Federation
• Abdul Karim Amu at the International Olympic Committee
• Abdul Karim Amu at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)