Okagbare, Nwokocha set for star studded 100m semi-finals
Nigeria’s queen of the track, Blessing Okagbare and debutant, Blessing Nwokocha are set to jostle for a place in the finals of the 100m.
The duo who are crying the hopes of millions of Nigerians qualified for the semi-finals after they posted good results in their respective heats on Friday.
It is the first time since 2012 that two Nigerians will be running in the semifinals of the Women’s 100m.
Nwokocha had to run a new personal best of 11.00 seconds to secure her qualification to the semifinals in her debut at the Games.
The 20-year-old has also moved into fifth in the Nigeria all-time list behind Okagbare (10.79), Glory Alozie (10.90) Mary Onyali (10.97) and Damola Osayomi (10.99).
The home-based athlete ran 11.09 seconds to secure her qualification for the Olympics in March at the MOC Grand Prix in Lagos.
She has been drawn to run from lane nine in the third semi-final heat with the fastest woman alive, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, Daryl Neita of Great Britain, Teahna Daniels of the USA and fellow African, Muriel Ahoure of Ivory Coast.
While Nwokocha qualified for her first semifinal, Okagbare will be running in her third since she made her debut in the event at the 2012 Olympics in London.
The 32-year-old ran 11.05 seconds to win her first-round heat. She has been drawn in the first semi-final heat alongside two heavyweights of the event, defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the 200m world champion two years ago in Doha.