Day 12 of Olympics: Nigeria’s Edose Ibadin hopeful of qualifying for men’s 800m semis

By Samuel Akpan in Paris

Nigeria’s Edose Ibadin will return for the repechage round to fight for another chance into the semifinals of the men’s 800m after finishing 6th in Heat 2 of the men’s 800m quarterfinal.

Persecondnews reports that the Nigerian, who came in sixth with a time of 1:46.56, was significantly behind the French sprint star Gabriel Tual, who clocked 1:45.13 for first place, and Ireland’s Mark English, who came in second with a time of 1:45.13.

A holder of four European senior medals and 18 Irish titles, English is contesting his third Olympics, missing out on a place in the semi-finals after finishing fourth in his heat in Tokyo in a time of 1:46.75.

In Rio 2016, English finished third in his heat with a time of 1:46.40, and in the ensuing semi-final, he finished fifth with a time of 1:45.93, losing to 2012 Olympic champion and world record holder David Rudisha.

English, now 31, made the trip to Paris in excellent form, having beaten his own Irish record in June, running 1:44.53 at the Madrid Meeting.