Nigeria’s 40-year wait for first Olympics 400m hurdles finalist extended by another four years
Expectedly, Nigeria’s Nathaniel Ezekiel failed to rewrite the country’s 40-year-old unwanted record in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Olympics and he cannot be blamed.
Pitted against two of the three fastest men ever in the event and two of the three greatest ever, he would have needed a miracle to snatch one of the two automatic tickets that will take him to a historic final.
The 21-year-old came out hard but faded towards the end as those superiority to him on paper proved in reality that they are.
Nathaniel eventually ended up in fifth place albeit he did not run his best, stopping the clock 48.65, way off the 48.00 lifetime best he ran this year.
The top three finished inside 48 seconds.
Karsten Warholm ran 47.67 to win the race, followed by Frenchman, Clement Ducos who ran 47.85 to upstage 2022 World champion, Alison Dos santos of Brazil who finished third in 47.95 and only managed to secure a lane in the final as one of the two fastest losers.
USA’s Trevor Bassitt came in fourth in 48.29 ahead of the Nigerian.
The first and only Nigerian to run in the final of the event remains Henry Amike who came in eighth in the final at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.
