2018 Common Wealth Games: Yinka Ajayi Advances to Semi-Finals In Women’s 400m Event

Having three contenders at the semi-final of the women’s 400m would have made a whole lot of difference for the Nigerian team, with the possibility of all three sprinters qualifying for the final. However, Nigeria’s hopes for a possible 1-2/1-3 win at the final of the women’s 400m Heat was dashed in Day 5’s event as two out of three Nigerian contenders, Patience Okon-George and Folashade Abugan were disqualified leaving Yinka Ajayi to progress into the semi-final of the race. The first blow to the Nigerian team came when Abugan who is making her fourth appearance at the Common Wealth Games was disqualified for lane violation despite finishing 3rd in 52.29s. The real shock came when three-time Nigerian Champion Okon-George was also disqualified for the same reason. The Nigerian dominated her race from start to finish in Heat 4 crossing the finish line in 51.76s, followed by Annelise Rubie in 52.32s. Now Nigeria’s sole contender in the event, Ajayi performed admirably in Heat 5 as the Nigerian dominated the finish of the race, coming from behind to clinch the win in 51.71s, 00.02s ahead of Botswana’s Christine Botlogetswe who came in second. Ajayi will race in Tuesday’s women’s 400m semifinal 2 event, starting in lane 5.

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This article was first published on 12th April 2018

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