Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s 400m hurdles in his first Olympic appearance on Monday morning.
The national record holder secured an automatic spot by finishing second in heat 4 with a time of 48.32s.
This performance marks Nathaniel’s fourth fastest time ever.
Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke claimed victory in the race with a time of 48.17s, while Wilfried Happio took third place, finishing in 48.42s.
Nathaniel’s achievement makes him the first Nigerian athlete in 12 years to reach the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles at the Olympics.
The last Nigerian to achieve this was Amaechi Morton at the London 2012 Olympics.
In contrast, Nigeria’s Chidi Okezie did not advance to the semi-finals of the men’s 400m.
Okezie finished fifth in the second heat of the repechage round with a time of 45.92s.
