Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel underlined his growing reputation on Wednesday as he stormed into the final of the men’s 400 metres hurdles at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, winning his semifinal in commanding fashion.
The 22-year-old led from start to finish, clocking an impressive 47.47 seconds to qualify in style. Qatar’s Ismail Doudai Abakar followed in second place with a personal best of 47.61 seconds, while American Caleb Dean finished third in 47.85.
Jamaica’s Malik James-King placed fourth, Brazil’s Matheus Lima fifth, Kenya’s Wiseman Were Mukhobe sixth, Sweden’s Oskar Edlund seventh, and Spain’s Jesús David Delgado came eighth.
Nathaniel had already caught the eye in the heats, where he crossed the line first in 48.37 seconds ahead of Dean and Brazil’s Francisco Dos Reis Viana. His semifinal victory further cements his status as one of the favourites heading into the final, scheduled for Friday, September 19 at 1:15 p.m.
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Significantly, Nathaniel has become the first Nigerian man to reach the final of the 400 metres hurdles at the World Championships since Henry Amike achieved the feat in Rome in 1987 — a milestone that underscores the scale of his achievement.
He will now hope to make even more history and secure Nigeria’s second medal in Tokyo after Tobi Amusan collected silver in the women’s 100 metres hurdles on Monday.
Elsewhere, the other semifinals lived up to the billing. Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba produced a late surge to edge Olympic champion and world number one Karsten Warholm of Norway on the line, winning the opening semifinal in 47.63 seconds. Warholm, who appeared to ease off in the closing stages, settled for second in 47.72, while Germany’s Emil Agyekum ran the race of his life to clock a personal best of 47.83 in third.
In the third semifinal, world number two Rai Benjamin of the United States looked comfortable as he cruised to victory in 47.95 seconds. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos, ranked third in the world, finished second in 48.16, while Qatar’s Bassem Hemeida impressed with a personal best of 48.29 for third.
With only the top two from each semifinal and the next two fastest athletes qualifying, the final promises to be a showdown of the event’s biggest names. For Nathaniel, it represents not only a chance to battle the likes of Warholm, Benjamin and dos Santos but also an opportunity to etch his name in Nigeria’s athletics history.
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