Prosper Oghenemine Ekporere, a Nigerian hurdler based in the United States, is determined to become the next Nigerian athlete to break the world record, following in the footsteps of Tobi Amusan, News About Nigeria reports.
During the recently concluded national trials at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Ekporere impressed spectators by achieving a new personal best (PB) time of 13.66 seconds, securing victory in the men’s 110m hurdles event.
The 20-year-old sprint hurdler demonstrated exceptional skill, effortlessly overcoming each hurdle to reach the record-breaking time, which earned him the crown, surpassing his strongest rival, Wisdom Musa.
Ekporere attributes his greatest motivation to Tobi Amusan’s world record achievement at last year’s World Championships in Oregon.
The young athlete, also a student at Liberty University in Virginia, acknowledged that he had least expected to break the record after suffering an injury at the beginning of the year, which hindered his training.
His season eventually commenced in June with a remarkable personal best time, which interestingly stands as the fastest ever achieved by a student of Liberty University in the 110m hurdles event.
Ekporere experienced a humbling fourth-place finish at last year’s junior athletes Championships, completing the final with a time of 14.02 seconds. However, he showcased significant improvement in this year’s men’s 110m hurdles event.
Expressing gratitude to God for providing him with the strength to secure the top position, Ekporere said, “Everybody counted me out this season, but I trusted in God. I believe in Him at all times, and in everything I do, I put God first.”
“Throughout the indoor season and the beginning of the outdoor season, I was injured in March. By April, I was still recovering. So, starting to run again was like embarking on a tough journey. However, achieving a personal best of 13.66 seconds here is a significant breakthrough for me,” he added.
