It’s was tough going for Team Nigeria in Track and Field on a historic night at the Stade de France.
Rosemary Chukwuma faltered in the Semi-Finals of the 100 metres, finishing last in her heat with a time of 11.39 seconds. Shot putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi fared better, clinching a decent 5th place in the Final of the event with a heave of 21.42 seconds, his best ever placing at a major Athletics meet.
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The highlight of the night was the Women’s 100 metres final which saw Julien Alfred from St. Lucia edge favourite Sha’Carri Richardson with an impressive time of 10.72seconds – 4th fastest on the all time list. The 23-year- old made history as her country’s first ever Olympics medal winner.
In swimming, Adaku Nwandu’s 26.62 seconds, second-placed finish in Heat 6 was not fast enough to make the top 16 time rating to progress to the semi finals. So, she was eliminated.
So, it’s back to the tracks today for Team Nigeria as 5 athletes continue the medal chase.
Chidi Okezie and 18 year old Samuel Ogazi will contest the 400 metres Round One, hoping to book Semi-Finals Slots. Favour Ashe and Kanyinsola Ajayi both have a daunting task in the Semi-Finals of the 100 metres as they seek to qualify for the Finals from a very strong field.
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And yes! Favour Ofili gets on the tracks today in the Women’s 200 metres 1st Round with a Semi-Finals place up for grabs. Hopefully, she would have put the disappointment of her controversial exclusion from the shorter sprint behind and focus on the task at hand.
There’s also the little matter of D’Tigress against Canada in Women’s Basketball with a very good chance of making the Quarter-Finals.
Team Nigeria needs some joy from somewhere……
By Deji Omotoyinbo, in Paris
Source: www.completesports.com
