Edidiong Odiong’s Bid To Reclaim Asian Sprint Double Ends In Disappointment In Nagoya
Edidiong Odiong’s bid to reclaim the Asian Games sprint double she won in 2018 ended in disappointment at the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan.
The Nigerian-born Bahraini finished fifth in the women’s 200m final on Saturday in 23.41 seconds, a day after she also failed in her bid to reclaim the 100m title.
Odiong had completed a memorable sprint double at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, winning both the 100m and 200m.
She was unable to defend either title in Hangzhou in 2023 and has now failed in her attempt to reclaim them in Nagoya, eight years after her golden double.
The 29-year-old first represented Nigeria at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Eugene, Oregon where she reached the 400m final, before switching allegiance to Bahrain.
She announced herself for her adopted country by winning the 200m title at the 2016 World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland in 22.84 seconds, breaking 23 seconds for the first time in her career.
That triumph propelled her to the Rio Olympics and later to Asian dominance in 2018.
But in Nagoya, she was well off the pace, fading in the final 50 metres to finish fifth in 23.41, far from her Bahraini national record of 22.43 seconds set in 2022.
