Lawrence Okoye: Discus thrower signs for San Francisco 49ers

British Olympic discus thrower Lawrence Okoye has signed for the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent.

Okoye, who finished 12th in the discus at London 2012, has never played a competitive game of American football.

“It’s going to be a baptism of fire but I don’t set limits on myself,” the 21-year-old said.

Manchester-born Menelik Watson was drafted by Oakland in the second round while Crawley’s Tom Wort has joined the Tennessee Titans, also as a free agent.

Okoye, who stands at 6ft 6in and weighs 21st, turned down offers to play rugby union and was also accepted to study law at Oxford University.

He initially said he intended to carry on with the discus and aim for the Rio Olympics in 2016.

But he subsequently decided to switch to American football and impressed scouts at the Super Regional Combine despite having never played the sport. Read more