Sanni Named to Nigerian Olympic Relay Squad

Sapele, Delta State, Nigeria – Following a sixth-place finish in the 100 meters Friday at the Nigerian Olympic Trials, Kansas senior-to-be Zainab Sanni was named to Nigeria’s 4×100-meter relay pool that will compete at the Rio Olympics next month. Sanni becomes the fourth current or former KU track & field athlete to earn a bid to this year’s Olympic Games.
 
Sanni, who was seeing action in her first Nigerian Olympic Trials, turned in a solid showing with top-six finishes in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. She claimed a sixth-place finish in the 100-meters after crossing the finish in 11.48 seconds. She also nabbed the bronze medal in the 200 meters via her clocking of 23.64. While Sanni did not qualify for Rio in either of the open events, her finish in the 100 meters earned her a spot in the six-woman relay pool for the 4×100-meter relay that will travel to the Olympics.
 
Sanni is coming off a great junior campaign for the Jayhawks in 2016. She was the Big 12 runner-up in the 100 meters at the Big 12 Championships in May and went on to help the 4×100-meter and 4×400-meter relays top top-three finishes at the conference meet as well. She also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in the 200 meters.
 
Sanni and the Nigerian relay squad will hit the track in Rio for the first round of the 4×100-meter relay on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 18.
 
 
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