20th World Athletics Championships: Onwuzurike Drawn Against Lyles, Hughes, Makarawu in 200m Semis
Udodi Onwuzurike has been drawn into a challenging semifinal heat in the 200m event at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.
The Nigerian sprinter, who won the World U20 title in the event four years ago, will face stiff competition from defending champion Noah Lyles of the USA, Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes, and two fellow Africans, Zimbabwe’s Tapiwanashe Makarawu and South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile.
Also lining up in the heat are Canadian Andre De Grasse, Sweden’s Henrik Larsson (not the footballer), and Jamaican Adrian Kerr.
Five of the eight athletes in the heat have broken the 20 second barrier in the 200m, including Onwuzurike.
However, only three of them have achieved that feat this year. Lyles, who also won bronze in the 100m at these championships, leads the pack with a personal season’s best of 19.63 seconds.
Makarawu follows with a lifetime best of 19.84 seconds, clocked in his first round heat, while Hughes holds a personal season’s best of 19.90 seconds.
Onwuzurike, the 2023 NCAA 200m champion, will likely need to dip under 20 seconds to stand a chance of becoming the fifth Nigerian man, after Innocent Egbunike, Olopade Adeniken, Uchenna Emedolu, and Francis Obikwelu, to reach the final of the event at the World Championships.
The top two finishers in each semifinal heat will qualify automatically for the final, with two additional spots awarded to the fastest remaining athletes across all three heats.
