3 months ago
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Nigerian athletes have failed to live up to expectations at the ongoing World U-20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, having missed the podium in two finals aside from other poor displays in the heats, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Paris Olympics finalist Prestina Ochonogor finished fifth in the women’s long jump with a 6.21m leap, while Justina Eyakpobeyan, who also ran in the women’s 4x100m in Paris, disappointedly placed seventh in the women’s 100m final with a time of 11.63s.
Ochonogor, an African Games bronze medallist, was the second-best performer in qualifying across two groups of 24 athletes, trailing only Spain’s Laura Martinez, who led the day with a jump of 6.37 m.
The only bright side of the competition for Nigeria has been Ella Onojuvwevwo, who caught the eye in the women’s 400m with a perfect race execution in the heats and semi-finals, showing strong medal potential.
In the men’s 400m, Gafar Badmus placed fifth in his semi-final heat (47.43s), missing the finals, while Caleb Joshua, who initially placed third in his heat, was eventually disqualified for a lane infringement.
Oseiwe Salami and Taiwo Mary Kudoro finished seventh in their heats with times of 54.06s and 1:01.51s in the men’s and women’s 400m hurdles, respectively.
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