Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel finished fourth in the men’s 400m hurdles final at the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Friday, narrowly missing out on a podium spot.
Nathaniel clocked 47.11 seconds to secure fourth place at the Tokyo National Stadium.
USA’s Rai Benjamin (46.52 seconds), Brazil’s Allison dos Santos (46.84), and Qatar’s Ismail Doudai Abakar (47.00) claimed gold, silver, and bronze respectively.
Starting from lane 6, the 22-year-old had a slow start but staged a strong finish in the closing meters to end in fourth place.
The race ended with drama when Benjamin, the gold medalist, was accused of interfering with a rival by knocking a hurdle into their lane. This briefly elevated Nathaniel to bronze, but after a successful appeal by the American team, his placement was reverted to fourth.
Despite missing out on a medal, Nathaniel set a new national record, surpassing his previous mark of 47.31 seconds set on August 16 in Poland.
He also ended Nigeria’s 38-year wait for representation in the men’s 400m hurdles final, following two straight semifinal exits at past World Championships.
Nathaniel was Nigeria’s last competitor in the tournament, with the country finishing the event with only one medal—Tobi Amusan’s silver in the women’s 100m hurdles.
A semi-finalist at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Nathaniel has had a strong season in the 400m hurdles, including a bronze medal finish at the Diamond League Final on August 28.