Kriss Akabusi
Encyclopedia
Kriss Kezie Uche Chukwu Duru Akabusi MBE
(born 28 November 1958) is a former sprint
and hurdling
athlete from the United Kingdom
. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles
at the 1990 European Championships, a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay
at the 1991 World Championships
, and a silver medal in the 4 x 400 m relay at the 1984 Olympic Games
. Since retiring from athletics, he has worked as a television presenter and motivational speaker
.
in 1975, having a successful career in the Royal Corps of Signals
before switching to the Army Physical Training Corps (as it was then called) in 1981. When he was discharged into the reserves at the end of his army career he held the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2.
, before switching to the 400 metres hurdles
in 1987.
As a member of the British 4 x 400 m relay team, Akabusi won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
.
In 1990, Akabusi broke David Hemery
's longstanding British 400 m hurdles record on his way to a gold medal at the European Championships. He also won the 400 m hurdles gold medal at that year's Commonwealth Games
.
At the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo
, Akabusi won the bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles. He then ran the anchor leg for the British 4 x 400 m relay team. At the start of the final lap, Akabusi took the baton in second place behind the United States
team, and he dramatically overtook the American runner Antonio Pettigrew
(who had won the 400 m individual event) on the final bend and crossed the line in first place to win the gold medal for Britain.
Akabusi won bronze medals in both the 400 m hurdles and the 4 x 400 m relay at the 1992 Olympic Games
in Barcelona
.
, Record Breakers
(joining after the death of long-serving presenter Roy Castle
in 1994) and The Big Breakfast
, and has regularly appeared as a panelist on many quiz show
s such as A Question of Sport
, They Think It's All Over
and Through the Keyhole
. Through these appearances he became well known for having an over-the-top laugh, which was spoofed in an episode of the Vicar of Dibley when Owen Newitt proposes to the vicar saying, "If you accept, I'll be the happiest man in the world apart from Kriss Akabusi." He appeared as a milkman in the 1997 Last of the Summer Wine
episode "There Goes the Groom".
Kriss Akabusi's first marriage was to Monika Akabusi who got Akabusi into athletics.
He is widely regarded as the originiator for the cathprhrase 'Awoooga!', followed by a double fist pump.
by Queen Elizabeth II
in recognition of his services to the country through athletics. Also that year, he was awarded an honorary degree
from the University of Southampton
along with fellow relay team member Roger Black
.
In 2008 University College London Union
renamed their student sports bar to the 'Kriss Akabusi Pleasure Lounge', in honour of one of the university's most famous sporting alumni. In 2010, on the back of popular demand, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
, also renamed their bar the 'Kriss Akabusi Entertainment Saloon'.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 28 November 1958) is a former sprint
Sprint (race)
Sprints are short running events in athletics and track and field. Races over short distances are among the oldest running competitions. The first 13 editions of the Ancient Olympic Games featured only one event—the stadion race, which was a race from one end of the stadium to the other...
and hurdling
Hurdling
Hurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
athlete from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. During his career, he won the gold medal in the 400 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
at the 1990 European Championships, a gold in the 4 x 400 metres relay
4 x 400 metres relay
The 4 x 400 meters relay or long relay is an athletics track event in which teams comprise four runners who each complete 400 meters or one lap. It is traditionally the final event of a track meet. At top class events, the first 500 meters is run in lanes...
at the 1991 World Championships
1991 World Championships in Athletics
The 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
, and a silver medal in the 4 x 400 m relay at the 1984 Olympic Games
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
. Since retiring from athletics, he has worked as a television presenter and motivational speaker
Motivational speaking
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
.
Military career
Akabusi joined the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1975, having a successful career in the Royal Corps of Signals
Royal Corps of Signals
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army...
before switching to the Army Physical Training Corps (as it was then called) in 1981. When he was discharged into the reserves at the end of his army career he held the rank of Warrant Officer Class 2.
Athletics career
In 1983, Akabusi embarked upon an athletics career, initially specialising in the 400 metres400 metres
The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...
, before switching to the 400 metres hurdles
400 metres hurdles
The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...
in 1987.
As a member of the British 4 x 400 m relay team, Akabusi won a silver medal at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
In 1990, Akabusi broke David Hemery
David Hemery
David Peter Hemery, CBE, is a British former athlete, winner of the 400m hurdles at the 1968 Summer Olympics.He was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, but his father's work took the family to the United States, where he attended school and graduated from Boston University.Hemery's first...
's longstanding British 400 m hurdles record on his way to a gold medal at the European Championships. He also won the 400 m hurdles gold medal at that year's Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
.
At the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Akabusi won the bronze medal in the 400 m hurdles. He then ran the anchor leg for the British 4 x 400 m relay team. At the start of the final lap, Akabusi took the baton in second place behind the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
team, and he dramatically overtook the American runner Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew
Antonio Pettigrew was an American sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters. He was born in Macon, Georgia....
(who had won the 400 m individual event) on the final bend and crossed the line in first place to win the gold medal for Britain.
Akabusi won bronze medals in both the 400 m hurdles and the 4 x 400 m relay at the 1992 Olympic Games
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
.
Television work
Akabusi has presented the television shows GladiatorsGladiators
Gladiators is a British television series produced by LWT for ITV on Saturdays nights from 10 October 1992 to 1 January 2000. It is an adaptation of the United States game show American Gladiators. An Australian spin-off and a Swedish one followed...
, Record Breakers
Record Breakers
Record Breakers was a British children's TV show, themed around world records and produced by the BBC and originally presented by Roy Castle with twin brothers Norris McWhirter and Ross McWhirter. It was broadcast on BBC1 from 15 December 1972 to 21 December 2001...
(joining after the death of long-serving presenter Roy Castle
Roy Castle
Roy Castle OBE was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. He attended Honley High School, where there is now a building in his name...
in 1994) and The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast
The Big Breakfast was a British light entertainment television show shown on Channel 4 and S4C each weekday morning from 28 September 1992 until 29 March 2002 during which period 2,482 shows were produced. The Big Breakfast was produced by Planet 24, the production company co-owned by former...
, and has regularly appeared as a panelist on many quiz show
Quiz Show
Quiz Show is a 1994 American historical drama film produced and directed by Robert Redford. Adapted by Paul Attanasio from Richard Goodwin's memoir Remembering America, the film is based upon the Twenty One quiz show scandal of the 1950s...
s such as A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport
A Question of Sport is a long-running BBC quiz show which started on 2 December 1968 and continues to this day. It is currently recorded at The Studios, MediaCityUK...
, They Think It's All Over
They Think It's All Over (TV series)
They Think It's All Over was a British comedy panel game with a sporting theme produced by Talkback Thames and shown on BBC One. The show's name is taken from Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous 1966 World Cup commentary quotation, "they think it's all over...it is now!" and the show used the phrase as...
and Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole
Through the Keyhole was a British panel game, hosted by Sir David Frost where panellists are given a video tour of a mystery famous guest's property and attempt to identify them. As of 1996, it is produced by David Frost's own production company, Paradine Productions at The Leeds Studios , and has...
. Through these appearances he became well known for having an over-the-top laugh, which was spoofed in an episode of the Vicar of Dibley when Owen Newitt proposes to the vicar saying, "If you accept, I'll be the happiest man in the world apart from Kriss Akabusi." He appeared as a milkman in the 1997 Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine is a British sitcom written by Roy Clarke that was broadcast on BBC One. Last of the Summer Wine premiered as an episode of Comedy Playhouse on 4 January 1973 and the first series of episodes followed on 12 November 1973. From 1983 to 2010, Alan J. W. Bell produced and...
episode "There Goes the Groom".
Kriss Akabusi's first marriage was to Monika Akabusi who got Akabusi into athletics.
He is widely regarded as the originiator for the cathprhrase 'Awoooga!', followed by a double fist pump.
Honours
In 1992, Akabusi was awarded an MBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in recognition of his services to the country through athletics. Also that year, he was awarded an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the University of Southampton
University of Southampton
The University of Southampton is a British public university located in the city of Southampton, England, a member of the Russell Group. The origins of the university can be dated back to the founding of the Hartley Institution in 1862 by Henry Robertson Hartley. In 1902, the Institution developed...
along with fellow relay team member Roger Black
Roger Black
Roger Anthony Black MBE is a retired British athlete. During his athletics career, he won individual silver medals in the 400 metres sprint at both the Olympic Games and World Championships, two individual gold medals at the European Championships, and 4x400 metres relay gold medals at both the...
.
In 2008 University College London Union
University College London Union
University College London Union , founded in 1893, has a credible claim to be England's oldest students' union. It was formed with the following objectives: "the promotion of social intercourse and of the means of recreation, physical and mental, of the students of University College, and the...
renamed their student sports bar to the 'Kriss Akabusi Pleasure Lounge', in honour of one of the university's most famous sporting alumni. In 2010, on the back of popular demand, Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Fitzwilliam College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge in England.The college traces its origins back to 1869 and the foundation of the Non-Collegiate Students Board, a venture intended to offer students from less financially privileged backgrounds a chance to study...
, also renamed their bar the 'Kriss Akabusi Entertainment Saloon'.
Achievements
- 1984
- Summer Olympics1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.- 4 x 400 m. relayRelay raceDuring a relay race, members of a team take turns running, orienteering, swimming, cross-country skiing, biathlon, or ice skating parts of a circuit or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games...
silver medal
- 4 x 400 m. relay
- Summer Olympics
- 1987
- World Championships1987 World Championships in AthleticsThe 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987.-Track:1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995...
- RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.- 4 x 400 m. relay silver medal
- World Championships
- 1989
- IAAF World Cup - BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.- 400 m. hurdlesHurdlingHurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
bronze medal
- 400 m. hurdles
- European Cup - GatesheadGatesheadGateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
, England.- 400 m. hurdles gold medal
- IAAF World Cup - Barcelona
- 1990
- Commonwealth Games1990 Commonwealth GamesThe 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo,...
- AucklandAucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.- 400 m. hurdles gold medal
- European Championships- SplitSplit (city)Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
, YugoslaviaYugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.- 400 m. hurdles gold medal
- Commonwealth Games
- 1991
- World Championships1991 World Championships in AthleticsThe 3rd World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan between August 23 and September 1 and athletes from 167 countries participated in the event.The event is best-remembered for the...
- TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.- 400 m. hurdles bronze medal
- 4 x 400 m. relay gold medal
- European Cup - Frankfurt am Main, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.- 400 m. hurdles gold medal
- World Championships
- 1992
- Summer Olympics: Barcelona, Spain.
- 400 m. hurdles bronze medal
- 4 x 400 m. relay bronze medal
- Summer Olympics: Barcelona, Spain.