Former Clovis West star Nikki Okwelogu falls short of Rio Olympics shot put final

The Rio Olympics adventure for Nikki Okwelogu, the former Clovis West High state track and field champion, came to an end Friday morning.

Okwelogu, competing for her parents’ native country of Nigeria, failed to advance from the qualifying round of the women’s shot put. Her best throw was 16.67 meters, well off the 17.91 throw she uncorked at an NCAA regional meet in May to qualify for the Games.

Okwelogu will be a senior at Harvard in this fall. She is an collegiate All-American in indoor and outdoor track. At Clovis West, she was the state champion in the discus and finished fourth in shot put in her senior year.

Twelve shot putters out of 36 competitors Friday morning advanced to the final. Valerie Adams led the field with a throw of 19.74 meters. The 12th and final qualifier, Aliona Dubitskaya of Belarus, threw 17.76.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 8:49 AM with the headline "Former Clovis West star Nikki Okwelogu falls short of Rio Olympics shot put final."