On March 2, 1999, The Tiger’s staff photographer Adam Thomas captured athlete Ato Modibo during his preparation for the NCAA championship.
With a time of 46.11 seconds in the 400m dash, Ato Modibo became the youngest runner in Clemson history to bring home an NCAA title. Placing eighth in the qualifying round, he almost didn’t make it to the finals. However, he recovered from this setback and claimed victory during the final round. He also anchored the season’s 4x400m relay team, which placed first in the nation that year with a time of three minutes and 7.8 seconds.
Modibo’s strong performance at the conference level earned him the title of ACC Freshman of the Year in 1999. Furthermore, he set the Clemson school records for the 300m dash (33.42) and 500m dash (1:10.80) during this season.
Throughout his career, Ato was a six-time NCAA All-American athlete, won two national championships and was an eight-time ACC champion. He went on to become a three-time Olympic athlete, competing for Trinidad and Tobago in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
