Okagbare,
who is making her fourth appearance at the Olympic Games, and who is Nigeria’s
record holder in the 100m and 200m events, will be competing in the women’s
100m heat on Friday.
Also
cleared to contest are sprint hurdler Tobiloba ‘Tobi’ Amusan, who is ranked
number four in the women’s 100m hurdles; long jumper Ese Brume, who tops the
world list in her event coming into the Olympics, and Grace Nwokocha, the
Nigerian-based sensation who clocked 11.09 seconds in March at the MOC Grand
Prix in Lagos to seal her qualification for the Tokyo Games.
Others are
the trio of Divine Oduduru, Enoch Adegoke and Ushoritse Itshekiri who will be
competing in the men’s 100m. Oduduru will also race in the 200m, an event he
holds the national record of 19.73 seconds; a time he set two years ago in
Austin, Texas, in the USA, to win the NCAA gold.
Shot putter
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, who made it to the event’s final at the 2019 World
Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar, is also cleared to compete.
The 4x400m
mixed relay quartet of Imaobong Nse Uko, Patience Okon-George, Nathaniel Samson
and Ifeanyi Ojeli are also cleared to compete and will be in action on Friday
in the first semi-final heat.
Prince
Adeniyi Adisa Beyioku, Secretary-General of the Athletics Federation of
Nigeria, says the athletes are in good spirits as they are determined to return
Nigeria to the podium for the first time since 2008 when Okagbare and the
women’s 4x100m won Nigeria’s last Olympic medals in track and field.
Beyioku is
happy the 12 athletes have been cleared to compete and assured that the
federation will continue to be the goose that lays Team Nigeria’s golden eggs
at the Olympics.
Athletics
accounts for 13 of the 25 medals won by the country at the Olympics, including
two of the country’s three gold medals.
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