Nigeria’s queen of the tracks, Blessing Okagbare is elated over her latest achievements when she ducked inside 11 seconds for the third time this season on Wednesday evening at the P-T-S athletics meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia according to thesportsbay.com.

The seven-time Nigeria 100m champion ran 10.98 seconds to win the race and in the process smashed the 11.09 seconds meeting record set in June 1983 by Czech Republic woman, Jarmila Kratochvílová.

“Thank God for another healthy race/win today,” said the Nigerian 100/200m record holder on her Facebook wall after the race. Okagbare has now broken 11 seconds thrice this year.

She ran her first sub-11 seconds of the season at the USTAF invitational in Eugene, Oregon USA in April before scorching to a 10.90 seconds personal season’s best at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Doha, Qatar last week.

Okagbare has now broken 11 seconds for the 21st time in her career, 19 more than Mary Onyali who ducked inside the time just twice.

The first and only Nigerian to win a track and field event medals at the World Athletics Championship, Okagbare broke 11 seconds for the first time in her career at the Crystal Palace Aviva London Grand Prix in Crystal Palace, London on July 14, 2012 when she ran 10.99 seconds in heat one of the meeting before running 11.01 seconds to win in the final.

Okagbare’s impressive performance this season has given Nigerians hope that their sprint queen, for the first time in six years looks set to make the final of a global 100m event which the Tokyo Olympics represent and where making history as the first Nigerian, man or woman to make the blue ribband podium will be the only focus.

Originally published at Tribune