Nigerian Athletes Face Tough Road To Tokyo 2020 Olympics

The road to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has just got tougher for many Nigerian athletes who desire to be at the quadrennial event next year, Completesports.com reports.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced the qualification and entry standards for the 2020 Olympics and in majority of the events Nigerian athletes stand a chance of making the cut, they will have to either break national records or run personal bests.

The IAAF has also provided a way out for athletes who can not achieve the standard – by virtue of their world rankings.

For Nigerian athletes however, the entry standards look a surer route.

Going by last year’s performance, only a handful of Nigerian athletes can make the cut and they include sprinter, Blessing Okagbare (10.90 and 22.04 in the 100 and 200m respectively); sprint hurdler, Tobiloba Amusan (12.68 in the 100m hurdles) and Shot Putter, Enekwechi Chukwuebuka (21.22m in the Shot Put).

Interestingly, no Nigerian sprinter, including the rave-making Divine Oduduru will make the trip to Tokyo 2020 Olympics to run the 100m going by their performances in the past two seasons.

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The entry standard for the 100m is 10.05 seconds and no Nigerian man has gone under 10.06 seconds since Olusoji Fasuba ran the 9.85 African record in Doha on May 12,2006.The fastest was the 10.06 seconds Ogho-Oghene Egwero ran first in 2011 and repeated in 2015 at the All Africa Games.

For the half lap, the 20.24 seconds standard set by the IAAF was surmounted by Oduduru when he ran 20.13 seconds to win the event in Waco, Texas, USA last May.

Only a miracle however will get a Nigerian male quartermiler to Tokyo 2020 Olympics unless they set new personal best and break new grounds-a sub-45 seconds run (44.90) is required. The last time a Nigerian ran inside 45 seconds was in 2015 when Erayokan Orukpe ran 44.95 seconds to win the first semi-final at the All Africa Games in Congo. Even at that, he won’t still make the cut for Tokyo on the stregth of that perfromance.

The Entry Standards For Tokyo 2020 Olympics:

MEN:

100m: (10.05s), 200m (20.24s), 400m: (44.90s), 800m (1:45.20s), 1500m: (3:35.00s), 5000m (13:13.50s), 10,000m (27:28.00s), 110m hurdles (13.32s), 400m hurdles (48.90s), 3000m steeple chase (8:22.00s), high jump (2.33m), pole vault (5.80m), long jump (8.22m), triple jump (17.14m), shot put (21.10m), discus (66m), hammer throw (77.50m), javelin (85m), decathlon (8350 pts), 20km race walk (1:21.00s), 50km race walk (3:50.00), marathon (2:11.30).

WOMEN:
100m (11.15s), 200m (22.80s), 400m (51.35s), 800m (1:59.50s), 1500m (4:04.20s), 5000m (15:10.00s), 10,000m (31:25.00s), 100m hurdles (12.84s), 400m hurdles (55.40s), 3000m steeple chase (9:30.00s), high jump (1.96m), pole vault (4.70m), long jump (6.82m), triple jump (14.32m), shot put (18.50m), discus (63.50m), hammer throw (72.50m), javelin(64m), heptathlon (6420 pts), 20km race walk (1:31.00s), marathon (2:29.30).

By Dare Esan

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