Nigerian rising star athlete Divine Oduduru ran to photo finish on Friday to clock 9.86s winning his first 100m title and defended his 200m title in 19.73s of the National Collegiate Athletics Association outdoor Championship in the United States.
The feats in 200 m makes him the third fastest in the IAAF world list.
Besides, his 200m time of 19.73s is the NCAA 200m record and the third fastest in the world and the third fastest on African all-time list and his 100m time makes him tied as the fastest in the world.
Oduduru easily won the 100 meters in 9.86 seconds the fastest ever by an African since Fasuba ran a slightly faster time of 9.85 seconds 13 years ago in Doha.
About 45 minutes after his heroics in the 100m, Oduduru won the 200 meters in 19.73 seconds.
Though Oduduru was the Nigeria record-holder in the 200m before Friday’s race, he has lowered the record again with his winning time.
Meanwhile, the feat means Oduduru is the second Nigerian after Olopade Adeniken (1992), and third African after Frankie Frederick (1991), to successfully complete a sprint double at the NCAA division 1 Championships.
He gives his Texas Tech the championship as they emerge champions of the male category in 100 and 200 metres of the NCAA tournament.
While speaking with reporters Oduduru said: “It’s all about execution and going through the process. The weather is perfect, like the weather back home in Nigeria”
The sprinter is the youngest of 10 children and he grew up in abject poverty in the small rural village of Ovworo near the town of Ughelli in Southern Nigeria.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization which regulates student athletes from 1,268 North American institutions and conferences. It also organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, and helps more than 480,000 college student-athletes who compete annually in college sports. The organization is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
By Uche Dozie and Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Twitter @uchedozie3 and @profseunoyediji
