Sani Brown Grabs Spot at Paris Games Ticket

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown

OSLO (Jiji Press) — Sprinter Abdul Hakim Sani Brown clocked 9.99 seconds to finish second in the 100 meters at the Diamond League event in Oslo on Thursday, securing his ticket at the Paris Olympics.

His time met the Japan Association of Athletics Federations’ criteria, satisfying the entry standard of 10.00 seconds for the Summer Games. Sani Brown will represent Japan at the 2024 Games for the second consecutive Olympics.

“I finally feel like the weight has been lifted off my shoulders a little,” Sani Brown said after Thursday’s race.

Sani Brown, who finished sixth in last summer’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest, is planning to skip the JAAF Athletics Championships to be held in late June, and instead will be based in Europe for training ahead of the Olympics.

Saying that the Paris Olympics will be a “good opportunity” to “prove” himself, Sani Brown added, “I hope to use my experience to dig into medal [opportunities] and secure a victory.”

South Africa’s Akani Simbine won the 100 in Oslo with a 9.94.

Elsewhere in the Oslo competition, Japan’s Nozomi Tanaka, who has already secured her ticket to the Paris Games for the women’s 5,000-meter event, rewrote the Japanese record for the 3,000-meter race to finish 10th, with a time of 8 minutes and 34.09 seconds.