Ezekiel Nathaniel cruised into the semi-finals of the men’s 400m hurdles in his maiden Olympic outing on Monday morning.
The national record holder came second in heat 4 with a time of 48.32s to secure an automatic spot.
It was Nathaniel’s fourth fastest time ever.
Jamaica’s Roshawn Clarke won the race in a time of 48.17s, while Wilfried Happio was third in a time of 48.42s.
Nathaniel is the first Nigerian athlete in 12 years to make the semi-finals of the 400m hurdles at the Olympics.
The last Nigerian athlete to qualify for the semis of the event was Amaechi Morton at London 2012.
Nigeria’s Chidi Okezie failed to progress into the semi-finals of men’s 400m.
Okezie finished fifth in the second heat of the repechage round, clocking a time of 45.92s.
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