Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare destroyed a stellar 100m field to set a new African record of 10.79 secs at Saturday's IAAF Diamond League in London. An hour before that new persona best time, Okagbare had earlier in the semi final dismissed the 10.90secs African record held by Glory Alozie since 1998, clocking 10.84secs. The University of Texas in El Paso (UTEP) graduate had similarly won the London leg of the IAAF Samsung Diamond League last year. In the second heat, Jamaica's reigning Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a world leading 10.77 seconds to win thereby setting the stage for a titanic battle in the final. However, Okagbare was in her elements in the final, storming out of the blocks in bullet-like fashion to win the race and the maximum IAAF Diamond League points to take her tally to 10, two behind Fraser-Pryce who could only manage a fourth place (10.94). Barbara Pierre of the United States (10.85) came second while Trinidad and Tobago's Kelly-Ann Baptiste ran 10.93 to place third. Cote d’Ivoire's Ahoure Muriel ran a new 10.95 national record to place fifth. Interstingly, Okagbare chose the London meeting, tagged the Saintsbury Anniversary Games to commemorate last year's Olympic Games, to announce to the whole world what happened at the games where she failed to fulfil expectations was just by happenstance. She also raced into reckoning as a firm favourite for the blue ribband title at next month's 14th IAAF World Championships in Moscow, Russia. She is thus on the path of becoming the second Nigerian woman after Alozie to win an individual medal at the IAAF flagship championships and the first individual, man or woman to win a world title. Respected athletics coach, Tony Osheku who facilitated Okagbare's move on scholarship to UTEP said Saturday that the five-time Nigerian 100m queen has shown she is right there with the very best in the world, pointing out that the decision by her kits sponsor, NIKE to take her under the coaching management of John Smith, renowned as the best sprints coach in the world as the best thing that has happened to in the last two years. “She has also received massive support from her state governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State and the president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Chief Solomon Ogba. “With Blessing, Nigeria now has a real chance of having our national anthem played,” said Osheku, who coached Falilat Ogunkoya to two Olympic medals, the number one ranking in the world in the 400m in 1998 and two IAAF World Cup medals the same year.