Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel secured his first-ever victory in the men’s 400m hurdles while Favour Ofili finished 2nd at Lausanne Diamond League www.aclsports.com reports.
Ofili clocked 22.31s to finish behind Brittany Brown of the United States, who won in 22.23s. Côte d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith ran a season-best 22.37s to secure third, followed by Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic (22.43s) and Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (22.64s).
Nathaniel grabbed the spotlight in the men’s 400m hurdles with his first Diamond League win. The 22-year-old showed composure in wet conditions to post 48.08s, holding off America’s Trevor Bassitt, who equalled his season’s best of 48.14s. Slovakia’s Matic Ian Gucek followed in third with 49.23s.
With Ofili adding another podium finish to her growing résumé and Nathaniel breaking new ground with victory, Nigerian athletics underlined its growing influence on the global stage.
