Paris Olympics: Chukwuma faces tough 100m semis

Nigerian sprinter Rosemary Chukwuma has been pitted against stronger oppositions for Saturday’s (today) women’s 100m semi-finals at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Punch Sports Extra reports.

The 22-year-old will go against reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson, five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, one-time Diamond League winner Julien Alfred, and African Games champion Gina Bass-Bittaye in the second semi-final at the Stade de France.

Only two athletes will get automatic qualification for the final also slated for Saturday, thus making Chukwuma’s chance slim in the star-studded semifinals.

Chukwuma, who has a season best 10.88s in the event, secured her spot in the semis on Friday with an automatic qualification time of 11.01s, placing third in Heat 5 behind Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (10.99s) and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (11.01s).

Her compatriot, Tima Godbless, failed to progress after she finished sixth in Heat 7 with a time of 11.33s despite an impressive start. Reigning African champion, Bass won the heat in 11.01s, ahead of Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji (11.05s) and Delphine Nkansa (11.20s) of Belgium.

Aside from those in Chukwuma’s group, other contenders for spots in the final in Paris include Marie-Josée Ta Lou of Ivory Coast, who posted a season’s best and the fastest qualifying time of 10.87s in the heats, Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (10.92) SB, and Jamaica’s Tia Clayton (11.00s).

Favour Ofili’s controversial omission meant only two athletes represented Nigeria and has never won a medal in the women’s 100m at the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Emmanuel Ojeli and Patience Okon-George set a new national record of 3:11:99 but it wasn’t enough to get them a spot in the final of the event at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In Nigeria’s second participation in the mixed relay at the Olympics, Ogazi started brightly, handing over the baton to Onojuvwevwo who further put Nigeria on the brink of automatic qualification just as Ojeli strengthened the grip, handing over to the anchor, Okon-George in third.

Nigeria eventually finished fourth, missing the non-automatic spot narrowly to Poland who ran 3:11:45.