UPDATED: Paris 2024: Nigeria’s Samuel Ogazi qualifies for 400m final, breaks 36-year jinx

1 month ago 102

Samuel Ogazi, an 18-year-old Nigerian athlete on Tuesday set a new Personal Best Time of 44.41s to secure a spot in the final of the men’s 400m event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Ogazi’s qualification is a milestone as it marks the first time a Nigerian will be making it to the event final since 1988 when the legendary Innocent Egbunike made it to the final at the Seoul Olympics; eventually finishing in the fifth position.

Remarkable Olympics

In Tuesday’s semi final race, Ogazi finished third; missing out on an automatic qualification spot but his time was fast enough to earn him a place among the final eight.

In what has been a remarkable debut at the Olympic Games, Ogazi had qualified for the 400m semi-finals with a personal best time of 44.50s on Sunday.

This achievement was also historic as it was the first time a Nigerian male athlete got to the semi-finals of the event since 2008.

Ogazi has been praised for his strong finishing ability, and as predicted, he has improved on his time in the semi-finals.

READ ALSO: Paris 2024: Team Nigeria banks on Ofili, Oborududu for first medals

While a medal may appear as a tall order, Ogazi has been improving with every race and may just surprise the book makers to make it to the podium.

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The youngster has his work cut out as he will be up against athletes who ran inside 44 seconds in the semifinals; including Kirani James, Zambia’s Muzala and Great Britain’s Mathew Hudson-Smith.



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