Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan qualifies for women’s 100m semifinals at Paris Olympics
Tobi Amusan, world record holder, has qualified for the 100-meter hurdles semi-finals in the ongoing 2024 Paris Olympics on Wednesday.
Amusan led the pack of eight athletes with 12.49 seconds, followed by America’s Alaysha Johnson with 12.61 and Jamaica’s Janeek Brown qualified with 12.84 seconds.
The semi-finals will hold on Friday, August 9, while the final is slated for the penultimate day of the athletics event, Saturday, August 10.
This is Amusan’s third consecutive Olympic Games.
Speaking after the game, Amusan said she is confident of securing a medal in the event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris after failing to do so in previous two editions in 2016 and 2020 in Rio and Tokyo, respectively.
“The first time I came as an Olympian, I was like 18/19, the second time I think I was a little bit experienced and I didn’t get on the podium. This time I think, it’s my season,” said Amusan, who has now qualified for three consecutive semifinals at the Olympics.
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The 400m semis were challenging for another Nigerian, Samuel Ogazi, but he is thrilled to have made it to the final.
He shared that he has been working towards such moment, and reaching the final, being among the top 8 in the world, is a significant achievement for both him and Nigeria.
Ogazi is the first Nigerian athlete in 36 years to qualify for the 400m final at the Olympic Games.
Ese Ukpeseraye was not as lucky in the Women’s Keirin Track Cycling after she finished 6th in heat 1 of the event on Wednesday.
She finished with a time of 13.108, missing out on an automatic spot into the quarterfinal.
