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Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Ezinne Abba have to put up their best performances in order to make the 60m final at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
For the first time this season, Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma will compete against each other in the same race, listed in the same 60m heat at the NCAA Indoor Championships, kicking off this weekend in Albuquerque.
From the released start list, Ofili and Chukwuma are in heat 1, which also has top contenders such as collegiate record holder Julien Alfred (6.99s), Kiara Grant (7.11s), and Amira Young (7.18s) also included in the stacked lineup.
Only the top two automatically qualify for the final, alongside the four next fastest times from both qualifying heats.
Chances of the Nigerian duo making the final
It will be tight as both athletes are listed to each run in lanes 1 and 2 beside each other, which could put some pressure on either of them on the starting line.
Nevertheless, if they get their starts right without mistakes and execute their races effectively, there's a good chance of advancing.
Ofili is known to have a great top-end speed, which makes up for her poor start. If she executes both halves of her race effectively, she will not only make it through but may get to break her Personal Best (PB) of 7.15s.
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On the other hand, Chukwuma is a better starter and maintains her form strongly to the finish line. As the joint second-fastest in the list behind Alfred, she is a top favourite for securing a final spot.
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Meanwhile, Ezinne Abba will compete in heat 2, having faster competitors ahead of her as she is the fifth-fastest on the list with a time of 7.17s.
However, going by her improvement this season, having lowered her PB in almost all her races, she can’t be overlooked to be among the finalists.
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The Nigerian trio of Ofili, Chukwuma, and Abba will be gunning to qualify for the final, which will be the second time in two years Nigeria will have three finalists in an NCAA women’s final - the last being the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100m.
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