Team Nigeria’s 4x400m quartet of Emmanuel Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Dubem Amene and Chidi Okezie will not be part of the final in Paris despite finishing in Heat 2 earlier on with a season’s best time of 2:59.81.
This is as a result of their disqualification from the final as one of the Nigerian runners was adjudged to have crossed lanes, leading to the tripping of a South African runner.
Nigeria had finished that race in second place, behind the host nation’s quartet that crossed the line in 2:59.53, while Belgium placed third after finishing with a time of 2:59.84.
But with this latest development, South Africa has been awarded a place in the final, replacing Team Nigeria.
This comes just as Tobi Amusan failed to reach the women’s 100m hurdles final, after finishing third in her heat in 12.55 seconds – a time which was not enough to book a spot in the final race.