Tokyo Olympics: Oduduru disqualified as Adegoke, Itsekiri advance to 100m semi-finals

Team Nigeria’s duo of Enoch Adegoke and Usheoritse Itsekiri, on Saturday, booked their spots in the semi-finals of the men’s 100m at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.

Adegoke dipped 9.98 seconds to finish first in the second heat, followed by Ogunade Femi of Qatar in second at 10.02 seconds, while Britain’s Hughes Zharnel came third in 10.04 seconds.

The time is Adegoke’s personal best, beating the 10.00 seconds he clocked in Lagos earlier this year to qualify for the Olympics.

On his part, Itsekiri finished third in the first heat with a time of 10.15 seconds to qualify for the semi-finals.

The Nigerian was only surpassed by Baker Ronnie of the US, who dipped 10.3 seconds, and France’s Vicaut Jimmy at 10.07.

The semi-final heats will commence on Sunday at 11:45 am, with the final later in the day.

However, Nigeria’s Divine Oduduru was disqualified for a false start in the penultimate round one heat.

It was adjudged he jumped the gun, and his race ended prematurely.

He will, however, partake in the 200 meters race on Tuesday.

In the women’s 100 meters semi-final, Grace Nwokocha’s impressive journey came to an end after she finished a disappointing fourth in the third heat, clocking 11.07 seconds.