Nigeria’s Glory Nathaniel on Monday qualified for the semifinals of the women’s 400m hurdles at the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London after running a personal best of 55.30secs in the first round.
Nathaniel, who is the only Nigerian in the event, finished third in heat 5 behind Switzerland’s Lea Sprunger and Jamaica’s Rhonda Whyte. The semifinals take place on Tuesday.
However, Margaret Bamgbose, Patience Okon-George and Yinka Ajayi crashed out of the women’s 400m. Tosin Oke could not make the final of the men’s triple jump.
National champion Okon-George, who was competing in her second consecutive semifinal at the worlds, finished seventh in her heat in 52.60secs. Olympic champion Bahrain’s Shunae Miller-Uibo won the heat in 50.36secs.
Ajayi, who competed against former Nigerian athlete Salwa Eid-Naser of Bahrain, finished sixth in her heat in 52.10secs. Eid Naser won in a national record time of 50.08secs. USA’s Allyson Felix finished second in 50.12secs.
US-based Bamgbose, who was a semifinalist in the event at the Rio 2016 Olympics, finished last in her heat in 52.23secs. Another US athlete Phyllis Francis won the heat in 50.37secs.In the men’s triple jump, Oke jumped 16.17m to finish 12th in the qualification group B of the event. He finished 25th overall in the event, which featured 30 athletes.
Report by Miyen Akiri
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