Former Commonwealth Games double sprints champion Blessing Okagbare is on a redemption mission to the Ostrava Golden Spike IAAF World Challenge Wednesday evening at the Městský stadium in Ostrava,Czech Republic.
The Nigerian has failed to fulfil expectations of late following a series of disappointing performances in her last four races starting with her seventh placing,11.07 seconds 100m run in Eugene,Oregon,USA at the Prefontaine Classics IAAF Diamond League meeting.She followed up at the Fanny Blankers Koen’s Games in Hengelo,the Netherlands with a 23.03 seconds 200m run to place sixth.
She dipped further in form in the 100m at the fifth Diamond League meeting in Oslo,Norway,running 11.12 seconds to place fourth before putting up yet another unispiring display three days later in Stockholm,Sweden when the Diamond League train made its sixth of 14 stops.She ran 11.22 seconds to place fifth.
All eyes will thus be on the woman who tops the 200m world list with the 22.04 seconds she ran in Abilene,Texas on March 24 when the half lap race is run in Ostrava.
Okagbare will however need to rediscover the form that gave her three sub-23 seconds performances so far this term (22.04,22.43 and 22.66) to sprint past flying Dutchwoman,Dafne Schippers who defeated the Nigerian over the distance in Hengelo over a forthnight ago and African 100m record holder (10.78 seconds),Murielle Ahoure of Cote D’Ivoire who will be making her first run in the event