Incredible Ogazi becomes first Nigerian in 36 years to qualify for Olympics 400m final

Samuel Ogazi ran a new 44.41 lifetime best to make history as the first Nigerian in 36 years to qualify for the final of the 400m at the Olympics.

The 18 years old has been one of the star athletes of the season and confirmed his growing profile at the biggest sporting stage in the world, the Olympics.

The African U18 200m and 400m champion knew he needed to produce something to make it to the final and the University of Alabama student-athlete did just that, improving his lifetime best from 44.52 to 44.50 to qualify for the semifinal and has now moved up a gear with his first sub 44.50 run in the semifinals.

The Nigerian may not stand as favourite in the final where he will race against three athletes who ran inside 44 seconds in the semifinals including defending champion, Kirani James who will be seeking for a fourth straight Olympic gold in the event after winning in 2012, 2016 and 2021 and Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga who ran a new 43.81 lifetime best and national record.

Ogazi will also race against world leader, Great Britain’s Mathew Hudson-Smith who won the Nigerian’s semifinal heat, Quincy Hall of the USA who ran 43.95 to win his semifinal heat and was one of only two athletes to have done that prior to the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The last Nigerian to run in the final of the event was Innocent Egbunike who ran 44.72 to place fifth at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, an improvement on his seventh place finish four years earlier at the Los Angeles Olympics where he and Sunday Uti became the first Nigerians to run in the final of the event.