Teenage swimmerAbiola Ogunbanwo yesterday created a piece of history at the on-going Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when she sensational won Heat 1 of the women’s 100m freestyle in 59.74s at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.
The impressive result means the 17-year-old Ogunbanwo is the new national record holder of the even after she erased Ngozi Monu’s long-standing Nigerian record of 1:00.50-which had stood since 2007,
Competing in the very first heat of the women’s 100m freestyle event, Ogunbanwo finished ahead of Andela Antunovic of Montenegro (1:00.01), Nepal’s Gaurika Singh (1:00.11), and Mineri Gomez of Guam (1:04.00).
However, her finishing time was not good enough to take her through to the semis, as it was only the 50th best time in the event.
In the women’s 100m freestyle event, the time returned by competitors is all that matters in the heats, as only the fastest 16 swimmers get to advance to the semi-finals.
But Ogunbanwo can hold her head up high after adding the 100m national record to the 400m freestyle and 200m breaststroke national records she currently holds.
Born 19 April 2004, Ogunbanwo had previously represented Nigeria at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea where she competed in the women’s 100 metre freestyle and women’s 200 metre freestyle events.
