Onojuvwevwo seeking to become fourth woman to break 51 seconds in final, oldest Nigerian to win World U20 title

Ella Onojuvwevwo is Nigeria’s only realistic hope of winning a gold medal at the ongoing World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru and the 19-year-old has been drawn in lane six with Czech’s Lurdes Gloria Manuel drawn inside in lane five and USA’s Zaya Akins, who has come into reckoning as one of the favourites for the three medals on offer, drawn outside the Nigerian in lane seven.

One of pre-Championships’ favourites, Michaela Mouton of the USA is drawn in lane 2.

Onojuvwevwo will not only be looking to become the fifth Nigerian to win the full lap title but will also be seeking to become the fourth woman to win the gold medal running inside 51 seconds.

Nigeria’s Fatimah Yusuf was the first to break 51 seconds (50.62) to win the gold medal in 1990 in Plovdiv.

It took 16 years to record another sub-51 seconds performance in the final and that was in 2006 when Croatia’s Danijela Grgic ran 50.78 to win in Beijing, China.

American, Ashley Spencer also ran inside 51 seconds six years later, running 50.50 to break Yusuf’s 50.62 Championships record to win in Barcelona, Spain.

Twelve years on, Onojuvwevwo will be aiming to become the next Nigerian to break 51 seconds and probably run a new Championships record.

A win will also extend Nigeria’s record as the most successful nation in the event in the history of the Championships with five gold medals, two more than the USA who have won three times.

Onojuvwevwo can also extend the dominance of the ladies with what will be the eight gold medal by a Nigerian woman in the history of the Championships and take the country’s total haul to 15 gold medals.

At 19 years and five months, Onojuvwevwo will also become the oldest Nigerian to win a world title, supplanting fellow quartermiler, Yusuf who won the 400m gold in 1990 at 19 years and three months old.