Nigeria’s Esther Toko crashes out of Tokyo Olympics

Nigeria’s first participant at the games of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Esther Toko has been eliminated from the rowing event.

Competing in the women’s singles sculls event, Esther Toko couldn’t make the top 3 positions mandatory for qualification into the next round of the women’s rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Friday.

Toko, who was on lane five of the six-women Heat One of the event’s opening round at Sea Forest Waterway, could only finish fifth in eight minutes 58.49 seconds.

The 21-year-old was 1:08.78 behind fourth-placed Alejandra Alonso of Paraguay (8:11.88) and 2:28.56 ahead of Esraa Khogali of Sudan (10:18.27).
All three Rowers could only qualify for the classification series after the first three Rowers in the heat had clinched the tickets to the quarter-finals from their heat.

Kara Kohler of the U.S. won the heat in a time of 7:49.71. Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus (7:51.86) and Nazanin Malawi (7:59.01) of Iran joined her in heading to the last eight.

Nigeria’s Esther Toko could only qualify for the repechage stage of the women’s single sculls event and will now take part in Saturday’s repechage 2 at the same venue.