London 2012: Odumosu smashed National Record for Olympic final spot

Ajoke Odumosu winning the African Championships in Porto-Novo in June 2012 / Photo credit: Yomi Omogbeja

Nigeria's dwindling medal hopes in Athletics got a boost at the Olympic Stadium on Monday after Ajoke Odumosu overhauled a quality field in the women's 400 metres hurdles to qualify for the final in a new national record of 54.40 secs.

Odumosu, the reigning Commonwealth and African 400m hurdles Champion, led from the outset to win the third semi-finals ahead of Georganne Moline of the United States (54.74) and Denisa Rosolova of the Czech Republic (54.87).

After the race, Odumosu was elated about setting Nigeria's national record (54.40): "I'm really shocked. I knew I was strong. I need to dig deep," she said.

"I'm happy with a national record. I have the energy to go faster. I'm working towards breaking the 54 second barrier."

"I'm going to recover and get some treatment and, hopefully, come out on top," she added.

On Sunday, after clocking 54.93 seconds to finish third in her heat, she said: "It feels good to get the first race out of my system."

"Since I doubled up in the 400m and 400m hurdles (in Beijing 2008), I love to exploit both sides of the race. I feel confident coming into London in the hurdles, that's why I stuck with that.

"I just wanted to make sure I executed my first race to see how it feels. We'll go back and make some adjustments and take it from there."

The final of the the women's 400 metres hurdles final will take place at the Olympic stadium on Wednesday night.

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