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UCL world champion

29 August 2007

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Former UCL student Christine Ohuruogu (UCL Linguistics 2005) won gold in the 400m finals at the World Championships in Osaka today.

Christine, a former recipient of a UCL Union Honours Cap, becomes the first British female to win a world 400m title, and the first since Sally Gunnell in 1993 to become a world champion.

Her surname means determination, a quality which enabled her to accelerate from fourth place off the final bend, to take first place in 49.61 seconds - a personal best for the London-based runner.

Christine ran in both the 400m and the 4x400m in the 2004 OIympics, making it through to the semi-finals of the 400m, in which she finished fourth, narrowly missing out on a place in the final. She now has her sights set on the 2008 Olympics and after today's performance she looks likely to be a contender.

Related links
Christine Ohuruogu, a UCL linguistics graduate, only took up athletics in 2003 having previously played netball for both England at both under-17 and under-19 level.

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