The Milton Keynes athlete becomes the youngest British indoor title winner since Phil Brown won 200m gold in 1979.
Remember the name: Tito Odunaike. The 16-year-old became the youngest winner of the men’s title at the British Indoor Championships on Saturday (February 14) when he took the triple jump crown at 15.75m.
Odunaike overtook Phil Brown, who held the record as the youngest winner since 1979 when he won the 200m title.
It was a day where the teenage talent shone, with Odunayike at one point sharing the podium with Harley Henry and Sean-Connor Atafo, both 17, although Jude Bright-Davies, a relative veteran of 26, rallied late in the competition to take silver with 15.58m.
“I’ve never raced here before,” Odunaike said, “so I’m used to it, and I got better as the event went on.
“My last jump was good enough to win, so I’m really happy with how I finished the competition. I just send it when I jump. I really don’t know how I did when I was flying. I definitely didn’t expect this title to be here, but I’m very happy with the result.”
Odunaike was originally a long jumper and played football and rugby, but injured his knee and switched to the triple jump. In his first year of A-levels, he has an interesting mix of maths, Latin, Russian and economics, with ambitions to study in the United States in the future.
This year, his main goal is the European Under-18 Championship in Rieti, and the World Under-20 Championship in Eugene is also a possibility.
“If I could win the Europeans and win a medal at the World Championships, it would be a good season,” he said.
