Tima Godbless sped to a new 11.09 seconds Nigeria U-20 record to qualify for the semifinal of the women’s 100m at the World Athletics U20 Championships Tuesday morning in Cali, Colombia.
Godbless, 18, withdrawn from the Nigerian Commonwealth Games team won her first round heat in style by breaking the 23-year-old record (11.11 seconds) set by Joan Uduak Ekah in July 1999.
The time is also the second fastest ever by an African U20 athlete after Christine Mboma’s 10.97 seconds run last April in Gaborone and the 12th best in the Nigerian overall all-time best.
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Godbless, a semifinalist a year ago at the last edition of the championships in Nairobi, Kenya has thrown herself into the reckoning for a podium appearance alongside Jamaica’s Tina Clayton who ran 11.38 seconds to win her heat in Cali.
The Nigerian will be joined in the semis by her compatriot, Praise Ofoku, a finalist a year ago in Nairobi who ran 11.55 seconds to come second in the third of seven 100m heats in Cali.
By Dare Esan
