Chukwuma extends Nigeria’s wait for a 100m finalist to 16 years

Rosemary Chukwuma ran 11.39 to finish seventh in the women’s 100m semifinal on Saturday to end her campaign in the event.

Her ouster also extended Nigeria’s 12 year wait for a 100m finalist by another four years.

Since Blessing Okagbare ran 11.01 to finish eighth in the final at the London 2012 Olympics, no Nigerian has made it beyond the semifinal stage.

Okagbare failed to repeat her feat of four years earlier as she crashed out in the semifinals in 2016 while Grace Nzubechi Nwokocha also made it to the semifinals in her debut three years ago in Tokyo, Japan.

Only two Nigerians have ran in the final of the event viz Mary Onyali and Okagbare. Onyali however achieved Nigeria’s best position, finishing seventh in 1992 (11.15) and 1996 (11.13).

Okagbare’s 10.92 seconds run at the semifinal stage in 2012 remains the fastest ever ran by a Nigerian woman in the event.