By Victor Kanayo
Nigerian swimmer Tobi Sijuade in the men’s 50-meter freestyle heats at the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics, Thursday, lost in the heat 5.
At 16, Sijuade’s loss ensured that he missed out in the semi-final stage of the biggest global competition that he qualified to compete in for the first time.
Sijuade, clocked a time of 23.34 seconds, 0.63 seconds behind the qualifying time in his heat.
While the time was a respectable effort, it was not enough to secure a spot among the fastest 16 swimmers who progressed to the next round.
Only the fastest top 16 swimmers from all the heats make the semi final list.
Gustavsson Resigns
Australia manager Tony Gustavsson has stepped down “by mutual agreement” after his women’s team were eliminated at the group stage in a disappointing Olympic Games football campaign.
The Matildas finished third in Group B after defeats to the United States and Germany.
Their sole win was a chaotic 6-5 victory against Zambia, who had led 5-2 early in the second half.
It was not enough to send Australia through as they ended with a worse goal difference than the third-place finishers in the other groups, Colombia and Brazil, who both progressed to the quarter-finals.
Gustavsson has departed as a result, less than a year after guiding Australia to their best finish at a Women’s World Cup. Australia finished fourth at the 2023 World Cup, which they co-hosted with New Zealand.