Nigeria’s Udodi Chudi Onwuzurike advanced in heat 3 to the semi-finals of the men’s 200m at the Tokyo 2025 World Athletics Championships, www.aclsports.com reports.
Onwuzurike finished second, clocking 20.27s to secure automatic qualification (Q) for the next round. He crossed the line behind Kenneth Bednarek of the USA, who won Heat 3 in 19.98s, while Sinesipho Dambile of South Africa also earned an automatic qualifying spot with the same time as Onwuzurike, 20.27s.
Other notable performances included William Reais of Switzerland, who posted a season-best 20.38s, and Canada’s Jerome Blake, who finished in 20.43s. Japan’s Soshi Mizukubo ran a season-best 20.51s, while Abdulaziz Abdui Atafi (KSA), Seunghwan Ko (KOR), and Animesh Kujur (IND) will have to wait to see if they qualified based on time.
The first three finishers in each heat qualify automatically to the semi-finals, along with the six fastest remaining times.
Reflecting on his run, Onwuzurike said in an interview: “I’m really pleased with my performance. I’m happy with how it went, and hopefully I can run an even better time in the semi-finals.”
The semi-finals promise to be fiercely competitive, with Onwuzurike looking to improve on his heat time as he targets a place in the final.
