Nigerian athlete Israel Okon has advanced into the semi-final of the men’s 100m event at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
The fast-rising sprinter took first position in 10.04s in Heat 6, fending off the duo of second-placed Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain and Italy’s Lamont Jacobs in third place.
The 18-year-old ranked sixth among seven athletes who won their heats, higher than Letsile Tebogho, the 200m Olympic gold medalist.
Okon, the national 100m champion, has been placed in Heat 3 of the semi-final which will take place on Sunday.
He will face a competitive field that includes Tebogho, Botswana’s record holder, and Gift Leotlela of South Africa who ran a personal best in the heats.
Kanyinsola Ajayi also joined Okon in the semi-final after posting a personal best of 9.88m to finish second in Heat 1.
It was, however, disappointment for Nigeria in other events of the day, led by Ese Brume in the women’s high jump. The medal hopeful posted 6.46m to finish 10th in Group B, failing to reach the event’s final.
Prestina Ochonogor finished in last place in Group A, crashing out alongside Brume after posting 6.05m on her second attempt.
It was a similar story in the women’s discus, with both Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons and Obiageri Amaechi exiting in the qualification round. Onyekwere-Lyons threw 59.45m to finish 12th place, while Amaechi posted 55.69m to place 16th among 18 competitors in her group.
Rosemary Chukwuma was also dumped out of the women’s 100m event following a 11.27s finish in Heat 3. The time could only place the 23-year-old in fifth place.
Nigeria suffered a near miss in men’s shot put where Chukwuebuka Enekwechi missed out on a medal following a fifth-place finish.
Enekwechi threw 20.83m to reach the final, where he improved to 21.52m but it was not enough for a podium finish.
Ryan Crouser (USA), Uziel Muñoz (MEX), Leonardo Fabbri (Italy) won gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively, in the event.
