Miners Go for Gold as Current, Former Track and Field Athletes Head to Tokyo Summer Games

Last Updated on July 23, 2021 at 12:00 AM

Originally published July 23, 2021

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

Several past, present and future student-athletes from UTEP’s track and field program will represent their home countries at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and for some, this isn’t their first Olympic appearance.

Seven former and current student-athletes, one current student and a UTEP signee will compete in this year’s games across multiple events. One of the Olympians, Blessing Okagbare, previously claimed the bronze medal in the long jump at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Okagbare will make her fourth Olympics appearance this year.

Since 1952, more than 70 individuals from UTEP’s track and field program have competed in the Olympic Games. The Miners were awarded 15 Olympic medals with Bob Beamon of Mexico City and Ria Stalman of Los Angeles winning gold in 1968 and 1984, respectively.

The Miners competing in the Olympics are:

Tobi Amusan
Ned Azemia
Sean Bailey
Loubna Benhadja
Asa Guevara
Emmanuel Korir
Churandy Martina
Blessing Okagbare
Michael Saruni

Tobi Amusan

Nigeria, 100m hurdles

Amusan will make her second appearance at the Olympics. When she was a freshman at UTEP in 2016, she advanced to the semifinals in the 100m hurdles in Rio de Janeiro. Amusan was a two-time All-American with the Miners in the 100m hurdles, including a first team honoree in 2017. Amusan holds the school record in the 100m hurdles (12.57) and 200m dash (22.92).

Ned Azemia

Seychelles, 400m hurdles

Azemia is currently a junior at UTEP and will compete in his second Olympic Summer Games. Azemia ran the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and he is his country’s record holder in the event (49.88).

Sean Bailey

Jamaica, 400m dash and 4x400m relay

Bailey will make his first appearance at the Olympics. During his time with the Miners, Bailey was an All-American in 2019 and claimed three gold medals and a bronze at the 2021 Conference-USA Championships. His personal best in the 400m is 45.19.

Loubna Benhadja

Algeria, 100m dash

Benhadja recently signed a national letter of intent to join the Miners and will compete at her first Olympics in Tokyo.

Asa Guevara

Trinidad and Tobago, 4x400m relay

Guevara will compete in his first Olympic games. In 2018, Guevara won the men's 400m dash at the C-USA Championships with a time of 45.26. Recently, Guevara and his team for Trinidad & Tobago won the men's 4x400m relay at the 2019 World Athletic Relays in Yokohama, Japan.

Emmanuel Korir

Kenya, 400m/800m

Korir is a first time Olympian, and he remains the current record holder at UTEP in the 400m dash with a time of 44.53. He won the indoor (1:47.48) and outdoor (1:45.03) NCAA championship in the 800m run in 2017.

Churandy Martina

Netherlands, 4x100m relay

Martina has the most experience in the summer games as he prepares for his fifth Olympic appearance. Martina was a three-time All-American at UTEP, and he recently claimed bronze at the 2018 European Championships in the 4x100m relay (38.03) in Berlin.

Blessing Okagbare

Nigeria, 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay

Okagbare will make her fourth Olympic appearance. In 2008, she claimed a bronze medal in the long jump at the Olympics in Beijing. Okagbare was a seven-time All-American at UTEP and holds the school record in the 100m dash (11.10), long jump (6.88 [20-07]) and triple jump (13.97 [45-10]).

Michael Saruni

Kenya, 800m

Saruni will make his Olympic debut at the Tokyo Summer Games. During his time at UTEP, he was an All-American in both his seasons in 2017 and 2018. Suruni's school record time of 1:45.15 won the indoor NCAA championship in the 800m race in 2018.