Nigerian athlete Samuel Ogazi has qualified for the men’s 400m final after finishing 3rd in heat three of the men’s 400m semifinal race at the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 19-year-old sprinter set a new personal best record of 44.41 seconds, bettering his previous record of 44.50 seconds from the quarterfinal race. He is the first Nigerian athlete since Innocent Egbunike at Seoul 1988 to reach the final of the men’s 400m race at the Olympics. It remains to be seen if he’ll shatter Egbunike’s national record of 44.10 seconds and his fifth-place finish at Seoul 1988.
He is joined by Zambia’s Muzala Samukonga as Africa’s representatives in the finals, the latter setting a new Zambian national record with an impressive time of 43.81 seconds.
A huge burden rests on the teenager’s shoulders in the finals as the country awaits its first podium finish and medal in a field event at the Paris 2024 Olympics.