Ogunmakinju breaks 52 seconds in eight years

Omolara Ogunmakinju looks determined to make up for lost time and qualify for her third Olympics, and first in eight years, at the age of 30, after storming to a huge 51.90 personal season’s best early yesterday at the John McDonell Invitational in Fayeteville, Arkansas.

The Nigerian, a 2024 African Games heroine, has not broken 52 seconds in the 400m event since 2016, when she ran inside it twice at the Nigerian championships in Sapele, Delta State and came to Arkansas with 52.77 season’s best.

According to sportsnow.com, Ogunmakinju has now raised hopes of breaking 51 seconds for the first time in her career and probably do just enough to hit the 50.95 qualification mark for the Olympics Games in Paris.

The Nigerian’s remarkable comeback bid came after she missed the party to the last World Championships in Budapest, Hungary despite helping the women’s 4x400m relay team to secure a lane at the Championships.

She made her debut at the Olympics at London 2012, running all the way to the semifinals in the 400m and helped the 4x400m relay team qualify for the final. But the team was eventually disqualified for lane infringement. She made an instant return four years later in Rio, Brazil, exiting in the first round.