Onojuvwevwo begins race to make NCAA 400m history
Chukwuma also in race to emulate Okagbare as 100m winner
Ella Onojuvwevwo will begin her race to immortality early Friday morning in Eugene, Oregon when she files out for the 400m event to achieve what no Nigerian woman, not even the great Falilat Ogunkoya, has ever achieved in the history of the event at the NCAA outdoor Championships.
The 19 year old raced into world reckoning this year when she jumped from a 51.32 lifetime best to 50.57 in just a little after a month.
She has raced inside 51 seconds two more times after that feat to prove her performance at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Gainesville, Florida was not by happenstance.
Onojuvwevwo will be seeking to not only become the first Nigerian woman to win the NCAA outdoor title but also the fourth Nigerian to break 50 seconds in the event. Can she do it? Never say never!.
To achieve that, she wll need to get nto the final of the event and this can only happen if she takes one of the two automatic qualification tickets in the third and final heat of the first round heats.
Onojuvwevwo is second fastest in the heat behind Kaylyn Brown of University of Arkansas (49.47).
Also seeking a place in history is sprinter, Rosemary Chukwuma who wants to become the first Nigerian woman after Blessing Okagbare to win the 100m title.
Chukwuma made her intention of making NCAA history known last month in Fayetteville, Arkansas towards the end of last month when she scorched to a 10.88 lifetime best which moved her to number two in the Nigerian all-time list, behind Blessing Okagbare (10.79) and number four in Africa.
The Texas Tech undergraduate student will be aiming to transfer her NCAA regional form to the Championships and make history.
