Nigeria’s Divine Oduduru emerged champion in the 200m National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Outdoor Championships at the Hayward Field in Eugene on Friday.
After qualifying for the final with a 20.33s in third place on Wednesday in heat 1, Oduduru entered the 200m title race with the fifth-best time. He ran in lane 8 to win the men’s 200m final with a time of 20.28s.
After the race Oduduru said,”It’s the dream of every student-athlete to get to the national meet. Coming over and winning it, I’m very happy. I want to say thank you to my coach and my teammates and everyone who made today a reality. I appreciate God for having those people around me.”
The excited Oduduru disclosed why he displayed a certain dance move associated with a tribe from Delta State.
“I told God, I said ‘God, if you make me win this race, I’m going to dance a dance that shows the Lord that I’m grateful.”
“He didn’t run great in the prelim, but he got in there today and was just focused. [Assistant] Coach [Calvin] Robinson did a fabulous job getting him ready for today.” Head coach Wes Kittley told the school’s website texatech.com
The Delta-born athlete however didn’t make the 100m final despite running one of his best times of the year, 10.119, which netted him fourth place.
The former 200m junior champion has been in a good run of form since his arrival to Texatech University. He recently claimed the Male Performer of the Year award after winning the 100m and 200m at the Big 12 Championships https://www.aclsports.com/12100-2/ last month.
