Background
Morton was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a Nigerian mother of Igbo descent, Nkem Sabena Obiekwe.
Morton was born in Atlanta, Georgia to a Nigerian mother of Igbo descent, Nkem Sabena Obiekwe.
He attended Riverwood High School and while there he broke the school records in the 400 m hurdles and the 400-meter dash, as well as finishing second at the 2008 USATF Junior Olympics.
He was the 2012 400 m hurdles gold medallist at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships and the African Championships. He has a personal record of 48.79 seconds for the event. He holds dual American/Nigerian citizenship.
He gained an athletic scholarship at Stanford University and began competing for the Stanford Cardinal in 2009.
Responding to the advice of Patience Itanyi (a Nigerian Olympian), Morton opted to compete internationally for his mother"s native Nigeria. In his first year at Stanford, he ran a personal best of 50.11 seconds for the 400 m hurdles, breaking the school"s 28-year-old record.
He came third at the Pac-10 Conference final and was a semi-finalist at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships. In July, he travelled to Nigeria and came second in the 400 m dash at the national trials (running a best of 4610 seconds).
He was chosen for the 4×400-meter relay team and helped Nigeria reach the 2009 World Championships final, where they finished eighth.
Returning to collegiate competition in 2010, he set a personal record of 48.94 seconds in the hurdles to finish second at the Pac-10 Championships, then earned his first All-American honours with a third-place finish at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Outdoors. He set an indoor best of 46.23 seconds over 400 m in January 2011 and was fifth in that event at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Indoor Championships. He ran a time of 49.43 for third at the Pac-10 Championships and improved one position at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Outdoors, taking second place in a season"s best of 49.08 seconds.
The 2012 collegiate season saw Morton develop his skills further.
Morton discussed his internationally eligibility with both the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and United States of America Track and Field. He requested to run for the United States and American officials asked for his release from Nigerian duty, but ultimately he continued to represent Nigeria.