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Abiodun Adewale
Nigerian sprinters Favour Ofili and Alaba Akintola have a mountain to climb in the semi-finals of the women and men’s 200m events respectively at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Budapest, Hungary, after being pitted against some of the top challengers ahead of Friday’s final, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Both athletes booked their semi-final tickets on Wednesday, but they must improve tremendously as they return to the tracks on Thursday (today).
Ofili, who is also the African indoor record holder, confirmed her place as the fastest non-automatic qualifier after she placed fourth in the first of six heats in 22.66secs.
The race was won by Antonique Strachan of the Bahamas in 22.31secs and was followed by Great Britain’s Daryl Neita 22.39secs, while Spain’s Jaël Bestué was third in 22.58secs.
In what is her third appearance at the World Championships and second consecutive appearance in the women’s 200m semis, Ofili just returned from an injury that forced her to miss most of the outdoor season.
“I’m just taking it one race at a time and trying my best to see how everything is going to end,” she said via Making of Champions.
The 20-year-old will be running in lane two of the third semi-final, facing stiff competition from Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou, African champion Gina Bass of the Gambia, Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson, who is looking to add the 200m title to the women’s 100m she claimed on Monday.
In the men’s event, Akintola will run in lane two of the second semi-final and will face competition from Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo and USA’s Kennth Bednarek.
Akintola qualified from the last heats as one of the three automatic qualifiers after finishing third in a time of 20.54secs.
He initially finished fourth but was awarded the third position, thanks to the disqualification of France’s Ryan Zeke for a false start. Zeke ran the race under protest and finished ahead of Alaba but he was eventually disqualified.
“It’s a big thing for me and honestly, I don’t like the performance. I hope I will be able to make it up in the semis with a season’s best or personal best. It’s definitely a new experience for me but I will see what I can do better in the semis,” Akintola said.
Ofili will run her semi-final race by 7:03pm Nigerian time, while Akintola’s race follows in the men’s semi-final by 7:29pm today. The first two of each heat as well as the two fastest times in both events will make it into Friday’s final.
