US-based Nigerian hurdler Divine Bamgboye endured a tough outing in the U-20 women’s 100m hurdles at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U-18/U-20 Championship, narrowly missing out on a podium finish, Sports247 reports.
Bamgboye finished fourth in a time of 14.79 seconds, after stumbling over the first hurdle — a misstep she described as the defining moment of her race.
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Algeria’s Malak Belhadi took bronze with 14.66 seconds, while Nigeria’s Precious Uduvweghre claimed silver in 14.29 seconds. South Africa’s Tumi Ramokgopa stormed to gold with an impressive time of 13.52 seconds.
Speaking after the race, an emotional Bamgboye rated her performance a disappointing 3 out of 10.
“I feel very bad but I did my best. If not for the first hurdle I stumbled on, I would have done better — at least gotten a medal,” she told Journalists in a post-race interview.
The 18-year-old said she is determined to fix her starts and return stronger. “For now, I’m going to work on that first hurdle. The rest of the race was fine, but that first hurdle gave me a headache. I want to train up my start and work on it.”
Despite the setback, Bamgboye remains optimistic about her future in athletics, setting her sights on representing Nigeria at the 2028 Olympic Games.
“In the coming future, I see myself in the 2028 Olympics, competing for Nigeria. I’ll rest for one week and then go back into training,” she added.
She also acknowledged the quality of her opponents in the race. “I think they are very good. The girl that came second and the girl that came first — they are very good competitors. I hope to face her again someday and win.”
Bamgboye’s grit and ambition shine through, and despite the early stumble, she has vowed to bounce back stronger on her journey to Olympic glory.
