Competing in his first ever World Championships, Nigeria’s Rilwan Alowonle qualified for the semifinals of the men’s 400m Hurdles, securing the last automatic spot from his heat.
Only four people gain automatic qualification from each heat, with Alowonle knowing he had done enough without having to push so much in the last 10m of the race, crossing the line in 4th with a time of 50.04s
Running against the likes of Abderrahman Samba and TJ Holmes, Alowonle held his own against some of the world’s best, leading the pack in the first 300m of the race, although he faded a bit in the last stretch of the race.
Samba might not have looked fully fit, but he still found a way to win the race in 49.04s, with Japan’s Takatoshi Abe finishing 2nd in 49.25s & TJ Holmes 3rd in 49.50s.
Alowonle will now compete in his first ever semifinal at a World Championships, and would hope he can get close to his Personal Best of 49.42s which he ran last month at the African Games in Rabat.
