Samuel Ogazi on Tuesday evening ran a personal best 44.41 seconds to qualify for the final of the men’s 400 metres event at the ongoing 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Ogazi who ran from lane 5 in heat 3 of the event at the Stade de France finished third to qualify and push into contention for a medal.
The 18-year-old who earlier had a personal and season best 44.50 put up a superlative performance.
Pushing forward after about 100m, he moved from the base of the group to fifth by the final bend at about 300m, from where he held his ground to finish third.
It was a close finish for Ogazi, who was the field’s youngest, and he qualified by the skin of his teeth as the second of the next two fastest qualifiers.
That was after the top two in each of the three semi-final races had qualified for the final slated for Wednesday evening.
Ogazi, who has a world ranking of 23 and is ranked above two other finalists, will run from lane 3, even as he has the field’s worst season best.
