Okagbare can return a sub-22 in the 200m final -Ogunkoya

Africa’s fastest women 400m run­ner, Falilat Ogunkoya yesterday said Commonwealth queen of track and field, Blessing Okag­bare can return a sub-22 in the final of the women 200m slated for today. “I was not surprised when she won the women 100m with a new Commonwealth record of 10.85 sec because she is in very good  shape,” said Ogunkoya who set the Af­rica record of 49.10 sec in the 400m at the Atlanta 96 Olympic Games.
Ogunkoya who has a personal best of 22.22 sec in the 200m said from the heats of the 100m it was obvious that Okagbare will win the 100m. “After watching the heats, I knew the 100m gold was already in her bag, then my friend Micheal John­son who is working for BBC further con­firmed what I knew when he said the gold medal is going to Nigeria after the 100m heats.” Ogunkoya, one of the few women 400m runners to have ran 17 sub-50 sec in season believed that Okagbare’s long stra ides and good start will give her the 200m easily. “But if the field is very strong and the other finalists pushed her by giving her a strong competition, she will not only win the 200m gold medal she will also run a sub-22 sec.”
Ogunkoya attributed Okagbare’s success to her quest for hard work. “At that level, you don’t wait for anybody, it is your ca­reer and you have to work very hard to achieve your goals. I am glad that she is hardwork­ing, focused and deter­mined, I am urging oth­ers athletes to emulate these quali­ties,” said Ogunkoya.