Lone Nigerian Sprinter Chukwuma Crashes Out of 100m Heats

Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma failed to progress beyond the women’s 100m heats at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Saturday, Sport360NG reports.

The 23-year-old, Nigeria’s sole entrant in the event, competed in the second heat but did not secure one of the automatic qualification spots or advance as one of the fastest losers.

Jamaica’s Tina Clayton and Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith set the pace in the race, easing through to the next round alongside Poland’s Ewa Swoboda.

Chukwuma, ranked 61st globally, had arrived in Tokyo with a season’s best of 11.03s clocked at the Star Athletics Sprint Series in Florida earlier in June. With top Nigerian sprinters Tima Godbless and Favour Ofili missing from the championships, she carried the country’s hopes in the short sprint.

A former African U-20 champion, Chukwuma has been a steady presence on the national team, making the 100m semi-finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and contributing to Nigeria’s relay successes, including gold at the African Games and bronze at the Commonwealth Games. She first broke onto the international scene in 2018, winning Youth Olympic gold over 100m.