Amusan and Ezekiel Secure Paris 2024 Olympics Tickets 

Tobi Amusan, the holder of the World Record in the 100-metre hurdles, has achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first Nigerian athlete to guarantee her participation in the Paris 2024 Olympics Games.

In December of last year, World Athletics (WA) made known the qualification process for athletics at the Paris 2024 Olympics. This announcement included the specific entry standards that athletes must meet within the period spanning from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.

Amusan’s qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympics was confirmed at the BAUHAUS-Galan Diamond League event in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 2. She claimed her spot by clocking an impressive time of 12.52 in the high hurdles race at the Olympiastadion and securing victory.

However, it’s important to note that her qualification is contingent upon confirmation at the Nigerian National Trials in 2024. During this event, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) will select the country’s representatives for the Games. The entry standard for the 100-metre hurdles at the Paris 2024 Games stands at 12.77 seconds.

At the 19th World Athletics Championship held in Budapest, Hungary, Amusan did not secure a place on the podium. Prior to her Budapest experience, Amusan had shown significant improvement in her performance. She achieved a remarkable personal season’s best time of 12.34 seconds at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Diamond League event in Chorzów, Poland.

Another Nigerian athlete, Ezekiel Nathaniel, has successfully secured his place at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Nathaniel, renowned as Nigeria’s 400-metre hurdles record holder, chose the World Athletics Championships in Budapest as the stage to earn his inaugural Olympic berth.

In the 400-metre heat, he delivered a remarkable performance, clocking in at 48.47 seconds, narrowly missing the National Record (NR) in the process. Although Nathaniel finished sixth in his semifinal, his time of 48.47 seconds was more than enough to secure his ticket to Paris 2024, surpassing the entry standard of 48.70 seconds for the 400-metre event.

On another note, Ese Brume, a talented long jumper, came remarkably close to securing her spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, missing it by just a mere two centimetres as she leaped to a distance of 6.84 metres, earning her a fourth-place finish in the final.

Brume boasts a notable Olympic history, having participated in two previous Games. Her Olympic debut was at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where she was Nigeria’s last athlete standing, achieving a fifth-place finish in the final. Notably, in the recent Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan, the long jumper from Delta State clinched a bronze medal.

Many athletics enthusiasts hold the belief that there remains sufficient time for Brume to secure her ticket to the Paris 2024 Games.