Tokyo 2020: 21-year-old Adegoke makes history, becomes Nigeria's 1st 100m Olympic finalist in 25 Years
- Enoch Adegoke will be competing in the finals of the 100meters men's final after making it through past the semis
- The 21-year-old recorded the slowest time in the second semi-finals but his time was enough to see him through
- Another Nigerian contingent Usheoritse Itsekiri crashed out in the first semi-finals after finishing in seventh position
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Enoch Adegoke qualified for the men's 100meters final at the ongoing Tokyo Olympic Games.
The 21-year-old posted a time of 10:00 seconds, two mili-seconds short of his previous 9:98sec time in his qualifying Heat.
However, the time was enough to send Adegoke through into the finals after coming second behind Great Britains' Zharnel Hughes.
Enoch Adegoke becomes Nigeria's first 100m Olympic finalist since 1996, 25 years after Davidson Ezinwa at Atlanta '96.
Source: UGC
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Adegoke and Hughes were the only male athletes to scrape through into the medal-winning stage after the other semi-finals produced a classic race.
Usheoritse Itsekiri crashed out of the first semi-final race after returning a time of 10:29 to finish in seventh position.
The third semi produced a classic race South Africa's Akani Simbine who came fourth with a time of 9:90sec qualified alongside Italy's Marcus Jacobs, United States Ronnie Baker and China's Su Bingtian.
Adegoke's record the slowest time in all of three semi-finals but will be hoping to finish in the top three places in the finals.
Here is a list of athletes that will compete in the 100m men's finals
1. Zharnel Hughes (Great Britain)
2. Akani Simbine (South Africa)
3. Enoch Adegoke (Nigeria)
4. Marcus Jacobs, (Italy)
5. Ronnie Baker (United States)
6. Su Bingtian (China)
7. Fred Kerley (United States)
8. Andre de Grasse (Canada)
Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh had earlier reported that reigning Nigerian champion Enoch Adegoke qualified for the semi-final of the men's 100m at the Tokyo 2020 after racing to a personal best of 9.98 seconds in his first-round heat.
Adegoke did not only join the exclusive club of sub-10 seconds runners Nigeria have produced, but he also defeated the fastest man in the world this year and seventh fastest of all-time, USA’s Trayvon Brommel in the process.
The 21-year-old also beat Asian record holder, Femi Ogunode, and British star, Zharnel Hughes in the race.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Lukman Mumuni (Sports Editor) Lukman Abdul Mumin is a CAF-accredited Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past eight years. Lukman has worked with some of Ghana's big media houses like GMA and was a regular pundit on GTV. He started his journalism career as a presenter and a writer after studying at the Gee Way Media School. Lukman has covered several international competitions including AFCON 2023. Email: lukmanevergreen2g15@gmail.com
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