Can Godbless succeed Okagbare as second Nigerian woman to win NCAA 100m event?
Tima Godbless’ incredible 10.91 run at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds on Thursday has rekindled hope that the long wait for a Nigerian woman to mount the podium as NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships 100m champion could be a reality exactly 15 years after Blessing Okagbare made history as the first Nigerian to do so.
Okagbare ran a wind-aided 10.98 at the at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon to win the blue ribband title for University of Texas in El Paso, UTEP.
Interestingly, Godbless is going to run on the same track that has given Nigeria its greatest medal in track and field-Tobi Amusan’s 100m hurdles gold and 12.12 World record at the World Athletics Championships in 2022.
The 20-year-old Godbless looks to be fulfilling expectations after knocking on the door of a sub-11 seconds performance since 2022 when she stormed to an 11.09 best as an 18-year-old at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.
In 2023, the then reigning National Sports Festival double sprint champion came closest to joining the exclusive of Nigeria’s sub-11 seconds runners when she sped to an 11.03 finish in Kentucky at the NCAA Division I East First Rounds.
Just a little over a year later, Godbless chose the same competition to announce her readiness to become a global phenomenon in the event by sprinting to the top of the World’s list of performances in 2025.
