Onwuzurike seeks to end Nigeria’s 32-year 200m drought

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Udodi Onwuzurike will hope to become the first Nigerian to win a men’s 200m medal at the Commonwealth Games in 32 years, after booking his place in this year’s final in Glasgow on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

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Onwuzurike maintained his impressive form to progress to Friday’s final running a time of 20.22 seconds as he chases a Commonwealth Games medal in the event.

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The 23-year-old came into Glasgow with a season’s best of 20.18 seconds, which he clocked to finish third at the Gyulai István Memorial in Budapest earlier this month. His personal best remains 19.76 seconds, making him one of the leading contenders for the podium.

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Jamaica duo Christopher Taylor and Jevaughn Powell, Ghana’s Paul Amoah, Canada’s Aaron Brown, South Africa’s Sinesipho Dambile and Australia’s Lachlan Kennedy, who also took silver in the men’s 100m, are among the other major names through to the final, setting up a highly competitive medal showdown.

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For Onwuzurike, the final represents another opportunity to improve on his sixth-place finish at the 2022 Games, where Trinidad and Tobago’s Jereem Richards won gold in 19.80 seconds. Ghana’s Amoah was the bronze medallist in that race.

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However, the biggest surprise of the semi-finals was the elimination of Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme, who had entered the 200m with hopes of completing a sprint double after his stunning victory in the 100m.

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Eseme produced a Games-record 9.83 seconds to win the 100m on Tuesday, edging Australia’s Kennedy, who ran a national-record 9.85 seconds for silver, and Nigeria’s fastest man Kayinsola Ajayi, who finished third in 9.90 seconds.

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On Friday, Onwuzurike will seek to become the first Nigerian to win a medal in the men’s 200m since Daniel Effiong’s bronze in 1994.

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A former world U-20 champion, Onwuzurike has already demonstrated that he can challenge the best in the field, and he will hope to turn his encouraging run in Glasgow into a historic medal and end Nigeria’s long wait for a podium finish in the event.

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