Nigeria’s Ezekiel Nathaniel made a mark on Friday at the Tokyo 2025 World Championships, breaking the national record in the men’s 400m hurdles final with a superb 47.11 seconds but painfully finished fourth.
But there was a bit of drama to his final position. Nathaniel was briefly celebrated as a World Championship bronze medalist after American Rai Benjamin, the initial winner, was disqualified for a lane infringement.
However, after an appeal, Benjamin’s result was reinstated, returning him to the gold medal position and pushing Nathaniel back to fourth place.
Nathaniel’s 47.11 seconds was just 0.05 seconds shy of Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba, who got the bronze in 47.06 seconds.
Benjamin’s reinstated winning time stood at 46.54 seconds, with Brazil’s Alison dos Santos taking silver in 46.84 seconds.
Nathaniel’s performance still cements his place among the world’s elite hurdlers as it stands as second best time ever for an African in that field..
Extrasportnigeria 
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