Israel Okon has advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s 100-meter event at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

In Heat 6, the fast-rising sprinter won in 10.04 seconds, beating second-placed Zharnel Hughes of Great Britain and third-placed Lamont Jacobs from Italy.

The 18-year-old finished sixth among seven racers who won their heats, ahead of Letsile Tebogho, the 200m Olympic gold medallist.

Okon, the national 100m champion, has been placed in Heat 3 of the semi-finals, which will be held on Sunday.

He will compete against Tebogho, Botswana’s record holder, and Gift Leotlela of South Africa, who set a personal best in the heats.

Kanyinsola Ajayi, who finished second in Heat 1 with a personal best of 9.88m, also advanced to the semi-finals.

Nigeria was disappointed in other events on the day, with Ese Brume leading the way in the women’s high jump. The medal hopeful jumped 6.46m to finish 10th in Group B, failing to advance to the event final.

Prestina Ochonogor finished last in Group A, colliding with Brume after reaching 6.05m on her second attempt.

In the women’s discus, Chioma Onyekwere-Lyons and Obiageri Amaechi both failed to advance beyond the qualification round.

Onyekwere-Lyons threw 59.45m to finish 12th, while Amaechi threw 55.69m to finish 16th of 18 athletes in her group.

Rosemary Chukwuma was also eliminated from the women’s 100m event after running 11.27 seconds in Heat 3. The 23-year-old could only finish fifth based on his time.

Nigeria almost missed out on a medal in the men’s shot put, with Chukwuebuka Enekwechi finishing fifth.

Enekwechi threw 20.83m to reach the final, where he improved to 21.52m, but it was not enough to secure a podium position.

Ryan Crouser (USA), Uziel Muñoz (MEX), and Leonardo Fabbri (Italy) took gold, silver, and bronze medals in the event.