Two ‘Nigerians’ to run in Paris 2024 Olympics women’s 400m final!
Two athletes whose parents are Bonafide Nigerians but who are competing for other countries will be in the final of the 400m event at the Paris 2024 Olympics when the finals is run on Friday at the Stade de France in Paris.
The duo of Rhasidat Adeleke and Salwa Eid Naser (Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu) will be running as Republic of Ireland and Bharain nationals, but both know Nigerian blood is running in their veins.
While Adeleke is running in her second global 400m final after coming fourth at the World Athletics Championships last year while Agbapuonwu, sorry Eid Naser was World 400m champion in 2019 and the third fastest woman over the distance in the all-time list with the 48.14 she ran to win the World title in Doha.
The Bahraini ran 49.08, the fastest qualifying time and a personal season’s best to make her first Olympic final in the event after exiting at the semifinals in 2016.
No Bonafide Nigerian athlete has made it to the final of the 400m event 28 years after the duo of Falilat Ogunkoya and Fatimah Yusuf first did at the Centennial Games in Atlanta, USA.
The two Nigerian representatives in the event at the Paris 2024 Olympics could not rewrite the unwanted record. While Elo Joseph fell at the first time of trying, Ella Onojuvwevwo needed a repechage round to make it to the semifinal where she eventually exited after running 51.05 to place sixth in her semifinal heat.
