Rosemary Chukwuma, one of Nigeria’s representatives in the women’s 100 metres event at the ongoing Olympics in Paris has qualified for the semi-finals.

Chukwuma finished third in Heat 5 in a time of 11.26s behind Poland’s Ewa Swaboda(10.99s) and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (11.01s).

She is one of two athletes flying Nigeria’s flag in the event.

The other representative, Tima Godbless, despite a strong start, finished 6th in Heat 7 and would play no further part in the event.

Another Nigerian, Favour Ofili who was supposed to participate in the event was not registered– a development that has resulted in a lot of backlash against the sport’s authorities in the country.

Cote d’ Ivoirie’s Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith finished the heats with the fastest overall time, crossing the line in a sub-10 time of 10.87s. Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Frasher-Pryce finished second in 10.92s and Germany’s Gina Luckenkemper finished third in 11.08s.

The semi-finals and final will take place on Saturday, August 3.