Onojuvwevwo begins bid to become fifth and fastest Nigerian World U20 400m champion in heat three
Ella Onojuvwevwo will begin her bid to become the fifth Nigerian teenager to win the 400m gold at the World Athletics U20 Championships.
The 19-year-old will also be seeking to become the fastest Nigerian ever in the history of the Championships.
Fatimah Yusuf won Nigeria’s first World U20 gold in the history of the championships and she is the only Nigerian to have broken 51 seconds in achieving that. She ran a then 50.62 Championships record to win the title in Plovdiv, Bulgaria with Charity Opara coming second in 51.28.
Olabisi Afolabi won the 400m title four years layer in Lisbon, Portugal.
Nigeria waited for 14 years to get Folashade Abugan crowned as champion in 2008 and another 13 year wait before Imaobong Nse Uko emerged the latest champion.
Onojuvwevwo is aiming to ensure the wait is not longer that three as she bids to be crowned the fastest and best 400m U20 champion of the world.
The Louisiana State University, LSU, undergraduate student will run from lane six in heat three of the first round at 5.19pm on Wednesday and she is expected to cruise into the semifinal later on Wednesday as one of the three automatic qualifiers.
Onojuvwevwo is expected to face two other athletes among the eight that will line up for the final who has broken 51 seconds this year.
They are Lurdes Gloria Manuel, the reigning European U20 champion from the Czech Republic who ran 50.52 to come fourth at the European senior championships this year and American, Michaela Mouton who ran 50.96 in May.
Still in the 400m, this time for men, the duo of Caleb Joshua and Gafari Badmus will be hoping for better luck this time after crashing in the mixed 4x400m relay on Tuesday, the opening day of the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru.
Also expected to compete on Wednesday are the 400m barrier runner duo of Taiwo Mary Kudoro and Oseiwe Salami. Both are seeking to become the first Nigerians to win a medal in the event for Nigeria at the U20 level.
