Former African 100m/200m champion, Ben Youssef Meïté equaled Cote d’Ivoire’s National Record (NR) of 10.05s to advance to the semifinals of the men’s 100m, alongside two other Africans at the ongoing IAAF World Championships in Beijing.
Meïté, who won the 100m at the 2010 African Championships in Nairobi, came to Beijing with a Personal Best (PB) of 10.08s. However, he was inspired to go faster while competing against Qatar’s Femi Ogunode in Heat 3 of the men’s 100m. The Asian champion dominated with 9.99s as Ramon Gittens of the Barbados followed in 2nd (10.02s); the African settled for 3rd with 10.05s to equal the NR set by team mate and reigning African champion, Hua Wilfried Koffi at the 2014 African Championships in Marrakech.
Ironically, Koffi who competed in Heat 5 was unable to qualify for the next round after a 5th place finish where he clocked 10.29s. He revealed that he was disappointed with his race. Another African who failed to advance to the semis was Togo’s Yendoutien Tiebekabe (10.74s). South Africa’s Anaso Jobodwana was shown red after beating the gun, bringing his 100m campaign in Beijing to an end. However he will aim to redeem his image in the 200m which comes up later this week.
Besides, fellow team mates, Akani Simbine (10.09s) and Henrico Bruinjties sailed past in their heats, with both finishing 3rd behind Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin respectively. They will continue their quest for medals in the semis on Sunday.
While other African athletes engaged their efforts in doing their countries proud, Nigeria entered the wrong side of the history books by not fielding any athlete in the men’s 100m for the first time since the history of the World Championships.
The country’s most consistent male sprinter, Ogho-Oghene Egwero was the sole athlete who met the qualifying mark for the championships and was included in the initial list of competitors for the World Championships. However he was dropped a few days to the tournament and no official reason was given for this decision. It is indeed sad that a country that was once regarded as one of the top sprinting nations of the world, is being overtaken by her African counterparts in this regard.
