Antwon Hicks facts for kids
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's athletics | ||
Representing the  United States |
||
| World Junior Championships | ||
| Gold | 2002 Kingston | 110 m hurdles |
Antwon Toritseju Hicks (born 12 March 1983) is an American and Nigerian track and field athlete. He is a hurdler who specializes in the 110-meter hurdles race. He won a gold medal in this event at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics. He was the first American to win this title. Antwon also won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the 60-meter hurdles two times.
Antwon Hicks grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas. His parents are Kimilar and Ronnie Graham. He went to Hot Springs High School. While in high school, he competed in high jump and hurdling. He was a state champion 15 times! In 1999, he became the American junior champion in the high jump.
College Years
After high school, Antwon went to the University of Mississippi. He competed for their college team, the Ole Miss Rebels, from 2002 to 2004. During his time there, he won two NCAA Indoor titles. He also set a school record in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in 7.61 seconds.
In outdoor events, he placed fifth in the NCAA 110-meter hurdles during his first year. In 2004, he was the runner-up at the Southeastern Conference Championships.
Professional Career
Antwon Hicks competed at the national level in the United States. He reached the semi-finals of the 110-meter hurdles at the 2004 United States Olympic Trials. In 2005, he set a new personal best of 13.35 seconds and finished sixth at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
He often took part in national events and came very close to making the Olympic team twice. He finished fifth at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials. Then, he placed fourth at the 2012 United States Olympic Trials.
At the 2008 trials, he ran his fastest race ever, finishing in 13.09 seconds in the semi-finals. This time was the fourth fastest in the world that year! It also put him among the top thirty hurdlers of all time. Only a few athletes ran faster that year, including world record holder and Olympic champion Dayron Robles, and American Olympic medalists David Oliver and Terrence Trammell.
Even though he was one of the top hurdlers in the world from 2008 to 2013, Antwon never competed in a major global event as a senior athlete. However, he was a well-known athlete on the professional track circuit. He won the Bislett Games in 2009 during the 2009 IAAF Golden League season. He also ranked seventh at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Final.
Later in his career, Antwon decided to compete for Nigeria. Another American hurdler, Tyron Akins, also chose to run for Nigeria around 2014.
Personal bests
- 110 metres hurdles – 13.09 (2008)
- 200 metres – 21.52 (2005)
- 60 metres indoor – 6.83 (2011)
- 55 metres hurdles indoor – 7.15 (2004)
- 60 metres hurdles indoor – 7.53 (2008)
- High jump indoor – 2.10 m (2002)
