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 who ran 11.09 seconds to secure her qualification for the Olympics
in March at the MOC Grand Prix in Lagos
will however need to make further history by breaking the 11 seconds
barrier as the fifth Nigerian woman to do so to stand a chance of joining
Onyali and Okagbare as debutants who ran all the way to the final of the
event.
She has been drawn to run from lane nine in the third
semifinal 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 semifinal heat alongside two
heavyweights of the event, defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica
who ran 10.82 seconds to win her first round heat and Great Britain’s Dina
Asher-Smith, the 200m world champion two years ago in Doha, Qatar who ran 11.07
seconds to come second in her first round heat.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics Long Jump silver medallist will be
in action at exactly 11.15 am Nigerian time on Saturday.
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