Hurdler Nathaniel emerges as gold medal favourite after qualifying for the final with fastest time

NIGERIAN sprinter Ezekiel Nathaniel has emerged as the favourite to clinch the men's 400 metres hurdles gold medal at the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Tokyo after he qualified for the final with the fastest time in the tournament in 47.47 seconds.

American-based Nathaniel, who won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2025 Outdoor Championships, has had a phenomenal year. He set an African indoor record of 44.74 seconds to move to eighth on the world indoor all-time list at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships in Texas on March 1 this year.

Now, he is poised to win gold after emerging as the fastest of the eight athletes who have qualified for tomorrow's final at the World Athletics Championship. In his own heat, Nathaniel, 22, beat Ismail Abakar of Qatar, who came second with 47.61 seconds and Caleb Dean of the US, who came third with 47.85 seconds.

In Heat One, Abderrahman Samba of Qatar came first with a time of 47.63 seconds, while Olympic champion Karsten Warholm came second with a time of 47.72 seconds and Emil Agyekum of Germany came third with a time of 47.83 seconds. In Heat Three, Rai Benjamin of the US won in a time of 47.95 seconds, while Alison Dos Santos of Brazil came second with a time of 48.16 seconds.

Team Nigeria has already won one medals in hurdles after world record holder Tobi Amusan picked up the silver in the women's `100 metres event yesterday. Nigeria's other medal hope in the tournament is Udodi Onwuzurike who is competing in the men's 200 metres after he qualified with the semi final with ease with a time of 2.27 seconds.