Ezekiel Nathaniel and Dubem Amene, two of Nigeria’s brightest track and field stars, delivered impressive performances at the Big Paw Invitational in Clemson, South Carolina, on Saturday.

Nathaniel, who holds the Nigerian record in the 400m hurdles, ran a personal best of 45.54s in the 400m flat, finishing second in his section behind Matthew Boling (45.47s).

Nathaniel’s time was the second fastest ever by a Nigerian indoors, just 0.03s shy of the record set by Sunday Bada in 1997.

Amene, also stormed to a personal best of 45.75s, smashing his own school record and becoming the first man in school history to go under 46 seconds indoors.

Amene, who attends the University of Michigan, finished third in his section behind Christopher Williams and Ahmad Robinson.

Imaobong Nse Uko, who won three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, clocked an indoor season best of 53.63s in the women’s 400m, placing second in her section behind Julia Jackson (52.74s).

Uko’s compatriot, Opeyemi Oke, made her indoor debut with a time of 54.63s, finishing fourth behind Uko and Jocelyn Niemiec in third.