Two of Nigeria’s relay teams, the men’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m, qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics at the ongoing World Athletics Relays in Bahamas on Sunday morning.
The mixed 400m which were the first to compete in the opening night of the competition finished second behind the USA in the second of the four heats to secure automatic qualification for the Olympics.
The quartet Esther Joseph, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Samuel Ogazi, and Chidi Okezie crossed the finish line in 3:13.79m behind the Americans in a Championship Record time of 3:11.52.
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Ogazi who ran the first leg, soon raced to second after a not-so-good start, which was maintained by Onojuvwevwo on the second leg. Okezie however took the lead in the third leg before passing the baton to Joseph who was overtaken by the victorious Americans but fended off pressure from the South African team which finished third.
Okezie went on again to be part of the men’s 4x400m who also sealed their qualification for the Paris Olympics – running the anchor leg – after finishing second behind Belgium in a Season Best time of 3:01.70m.
Other members of the quartet were Dubem Nwachukwu, Dubem Amene, and Ezekiel Nathaniel.
The women’s 4x400m relay team who were drawn in heat four of the qualifiers however failed to show up.
The country’s men’s and women’s 4x100m relay teams also failed to secure automatic qualification on the first day of the competition.
The men’s team which had Udodi Onwuzurike, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola, and Seye Ogunlewe finished fourth in heat two behind France, Great Britain, and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Nigerian quartet finished the race in 38.47s.
The women’s team which had Justina Eyakpobeyan, Favour Ofili, Olayinka Olajide and Tima Godbless also finished third in their heat behind the USA and France.
Godbless’ impressive anchor leg was not enough to overtake the French team who picked the second automatic qualification spot behind the Americans.
The non-qualified teams have another opportunity for qualification in the second round of qualifying early Monday morning, while the qualified teams will compete in the final for a prize money of $40,000.
