If Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma is to make it to the final of the women’s 100m at the Paris 2024 Olympics, she will have to navigate a challenging semi-final group.
The Texas Tech University graduate will compete in Saturday’s semi-final 2 against multiple Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica, reigning world champion Sha’Carri Richardson from the USA, and Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred.
Also in the semi-final is African champion Gina Bass-Bittaye from The Gambia, who won Chukwuma’s heat.
Richardson, Fraser-Pryce, and Alfred all qualified for the final with sub-10s times, while Bass-Bittaye made the final in 11.01s.
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Richardson won heat 1 in 10.94s, while Alfred won heat 2 with a time of 10.95s. Fraser-Pryce, competing in her fifth Olympics, had the second-fastest qualifying time, placing second in heat 8 with a time of 10.92s, behind Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith.
Other athletes in semi-final 2 include Australia’s Bree Masters, Great Britain’s Imani Lansiquot, Luxembourg’s Patrizia Van Der Weken, and Puerto Rico’s Gladymar Torres.
Chukwuma, assigned lane 1, will hope to become the first Nigerian since Blessing Okagbare in London 2012 to qualify for the women’s 100m final.
The first semi-final features Ivory Coast’s Ta Lou-Smith, Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the USA’s Melissa Jefferson, and Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji.
In the third semi-final, the USA’s Twanisha Terry, Jamaica’s Tia Clayton, and Great Britain’s Daryll Neita are favorites to make it to the final.
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