Okagbere claims second spot in IAAF World Championship

Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare came second in the 100 metres race at the IAAF Championship in Japan, narrowly losing in the last 30 metres to Tianna Bartoletta after having a great start off the blocks.

She finished the race in 11.30 seconds, seven seconds behind United States representative Bartoletta, who finished with a winning time of 11.23 seconds.

Bartoletta, long jump champion at the 2015 IAAF World Championship in Beijing, said after the race that she was disappointed with her slow start off the blocks.

She was quoted as saying, “Slow, you can say it was slow, you know what they say, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish; and my start has been more powerful, so it looks slower, but my velocity is higher, so I think that’s what carries me through”.

“A lot of people panic when they’re behind like that, and I really did a good job of remaining patient, and staying in my lane. What I could have done better was not lean so early, but that was just mental fatigue on my part”.