All Eyes On 100m Hurdles As Nigeria’s Medal Hopes Fade …C0NTINUE READING HERE >>>
Seems Tobi Amusan is now the only realistic medal hope as another day went by with disappointing results for Team Nigeria in Paris.
Following the euphoria and feel-good factor the excellent run of D’Tigress had given to Nigeria at the Games, a brilliant opportunity to cap that with a medal presented itself when the country’s 3 representatives lined up for the Women’s Long Jump Final with high hopes of a possible podium finish. But those dreams were quickly extinguished when Ruth Usoro and Prestina Ochonogor were eliminated after the first 3 attempts and Ese Brume just managed to squeeze into the Final round with her very last jump of 6.70metres. That proved to be the best overall of her 6 attempts and was only good enough for 5th place.
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Earlier in the day, both the Men and Women’s 4 by 100m relay teams had failed to progress into the final finishing 6th and 7th in their respective Semi-Finals Heats.
A creditable mention for Rafiatu Lawal in the 59kg Women’s Weightlifting division who placed a decent 5th place in a very strong field full of established stars of the event with a combined 230kg lift in the Snatch-100kg, and Clean and Jerk-130kg. Her performance shows a lot of promise for the future.
So all eyes and hopes rest on Tobi Amusan as she spikes up for the Semi- Finals of the 100metre hurdles by 10.05 am Nigerian time.
Nigeria still has hopes in Wrestling and Weightlifting events as the Games wind down but Tobi-Express appears to be the most likely source for a Medal at the Games. Nothing is guaranteed though. It is a very strong field and the World Record Holder is presently ranked 5th in the standings.
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If she qualifies for the Final as expected, the race will come up at the last Athletics session on Saturday night, which heralds the end of the Olympics
Maybe an underwhelming Olympics for Team Nigeria may still end up on a high in Paris…
By Deji Omotoyinbo, in Paris
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