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Tag: Relay Team

  • Team Nigeria Athletics heads to Accra for last Olympic Games relay slot

    Team Nigeria Athletics heads to Accra for last Olympic Games relay slot

    Team Nigeria Athletics dominated by home-based stars who are seeking to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will hit Accra, the Ghanaian capital on June 1st to run for honours at the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA), Championship.
    The event runs from the 3rd to 6th of June at the Sports Complex of the University of Ghana, Legon, Accra.
    The CAA Region II Athletics Championship in Accra is one of the three competitions in Africa that has the blessing and seal of World Athletics (WA) for athletes across the globe to pick qualification tickets to the Paris 2024 Olympics.
    The other two are the Athletics Sonelgaz International Meeting slated for Stade Souk, Ethnine, Bejaia, Algeria, on June 1, and the 6th Challenge Meeting holding on June 6 at the Olympic Center for Training National Team in Cairo, Egypt.
    In a desperate bid and moves to deceive some athIetes and the athletics fraternity a handful of uninformed media have been trying hard to discredited the CAA Region 2 Athletics Championship in Accra, claiming it is not recognized by World Athletics.
    However, their falsehood has fell flat as World Athletics (WA), confirmed to the President of Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Chief Tonobok Okowa, that the CAA Region 2 event next month is authentic and has their approval as an Olympic Games Qualifiers.
    The Making of Champions (MoC) Grand Prix fixed to hold in Lagos as an Olympic Games Qualifiers has not been granted approval  according to reports from FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST.
    To this effect, the Organizers of the 4th MoC Grand Prix in Lagos have abandoned the event since the World Athletics, refused it as Qualifiers for the Paris Olympics Games.
    The President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Tonobok Okowa, confirmed to AFN media today, that Team Nigeria would depart for Accra on June 1 for the CAA Region 2 Athletics Championship.
    “Our athletes and officials will leave Lagos on June 1 for the Region 2 event,” he said.
    Okowa, who is President of Africa Region 2 and a Vice President of CAA, said:
    “The AFN will have to pay for their accommodation for one night in Accra before the official Championship home for athletes opens on June 3 for the competition.
    “I am sure some of our athletes will use the opportunity of attending this competition in Accra to either seal their tickets to Paris or put finishing touches to their preparations for our National Trials in Benin City, where we will pick athletes for the 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships holding in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, and the Paris Olympics,” Okowa stated.
    Over 450 athletes from 15 countries are expected to grace the CAA Region 2 Athletics Championship.
    There will be a rematch of the heart-stopping moments witnessed during the African Games at the venue earlier this year, with record-breaking performances, and unforgettable displays of speed, strength, and agility expected.
    The crème de la crème of athletes from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, The Gambia, Niger, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and other countries in the region will converge on the Legon Stadium, each fueled by a burning desire to emerge victorious and claim the coveted title of Regional Champion.
    The atmosphere is expected to be electric, with fans from across the region cheering on their heroes and heroines as they battle for supremacy.
    Ghana, renowned for its rich athletic heritage, has spared no effort in ensuring a world-class experience for athletes, officials, and spectators alike.
    The Local Organizing Committee (LOC), inaugurated a few weeks ago has promised a well organized event
    “We are proud to host this prestigious event and showcase the best of Ghanaian hospitality,” Chairman of the LOC, Dr. Kwame Baah-Nuakoh stated.
    “Our team has worked tirelessly to create an unforgettable experience, and we can’t wait to witness the region’s best athletes in action.”
    The championships will feature sprint and distance races, hurdles and relays, jumps, and throws.
  • Nse Uko powers Nigeria’s women relay squad to Budapest

    Nse Uko powers Nigeria’s women relay squad to Budapest

    Team Nigeria women’s 4x400m relay squad, on Friday, secured their ticket to the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships at the Deji Tinubu-Lagos Series, which ended at Yaba Technical College.
    Nigeria and two West African countries, Ghana and Benin Republic, battled for the relay qualification marks in Lagos, on Friday.
    Last week in Lome, Togo, Team Nigeria’s men and women’s 4x400m relay teams moved a step closer to qualifying for the World Championships after impressive displays at the CAA Region II Senior Athletics Championships.
    But at Yaba College, Nigerian women 4x400m quartet romped into the top 16 qualification zone, and are hopeful of holding their 15th position till the July 30 deadline. The team finished in 3.27.61 seconds to displace Dominican Republic from the 15th spot.
    Comeback queen, Omolara Omotosho, started the race on a good note and Patience Okon- George, dug deeper knowing the team was competing against time, and not the field featuring Ghana and Benin Republic. Ella Onojuvwewo kicked in before Imeobong Nse Uko, egged on by a cheering crowd, sped like a newly retooled engine to breast the tape for the heartwarming performance.
    But it was not a sweet ending for the men’s 4x400m team despite a good start by Dubem Nwachukwu and reinforced by Ezekiel Nathaniel, Samuel Ogazi and Chidi Okezie couldn’t push hard enough to get the run they needed to qualify. They managed a 3.02.64 seconds finish, which leaves them in the 19th position.
    The atmosphere at the Yaba Technical College was supercharged awaiting the men’s 4x100m final race.
    At the meeting in the Togolese capital of Lome last week, the Nigerian men’s 4x100m team ran 38.72sec to move a step closer to the qualification spot. They improved to 38.56seconds during the semifinal at the Lagos Series, Friday morning.
    Rather than cut it down as expected, the quartet of Ashe Favour, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Alaba Akintola and Godson Brume ran 38.65seconds in the final in the evening to remain on the 17th spot in the qualification.
    Before Friday’s Lagos Series at Yaba Tech, Team Nigeria had secured qualification in the women’s 4x100m and the mixed relay.
    Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) officials, including the President, Tonobok Okowa, Secretary-General, Rita Mosindi, board members, Omatseye Nesiama and Solomon Alao, could not contain their excitement at the venue, after the event.
    Meanwhile, Nigeria’s women s 4x100m relay team at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games have been stripped of their gold medal following the disqualification of Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha, who was found guilty of doping by the Commonwealth Games Federation Court.
    England have now been promoted to first place, followed by Jamaica and Australia. Nwokocha had run the anchor leg as Nigeria crossed the finish line 0.21 seconds ahead of England in a thrilling race at Alexander Stadium on August 7.
  • Commonwealth Games: Team Nigeria female 4×100 wins Gold, Male team claims Bronze

    Commonwealth Games: Team Nigeria female 4×100 wins Gold, Male team claims Bronze

    Nigeria’s female quartet of Tobi Amusan, Ofili,  Chukwuma’s  and Nwokocha blew defending champions England away and made 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah settle for Bronze.

    Nigerian team won with a new African record of 42.10 second.

    Although Nigeria coming out tops may have surprised some, it was actually a replay of the team’s feat that saw them qualify for the final with the fastest qualifying time.

    Nigeria has won silver (2014) and bronze (1990 and 2018) in the 4x100m event in past editions and will feel it is time to move up to gold this time.

    The quartet have now stepped up their game by claiming gold medal first time in the country’s history.

    Meanwhile , the Nigerian quartet of Udodi Onwuzurike, Favour Ashe, Alaba Akintola and Raymond Ekevwo have won Bronze in the men’s 4x100m relay finishing in a time of 38.81s

  • Commonwealth Games: Nigeria female 4×100 relay team record fastest time

    Commonwealth Games: Nigeria female 4×100 relay team record fastest time

    The Nigerian Women’s 4x100m relay quartet of Joy Udo-Gabriel, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Grace Nzubechi Nwokocha have made it to the final of the commonwealth games the fastest in all the semi-final race to book a place in the final.

    The team posted 42,22 secs to record the fastest time so far in the competition.

    Daryl Neita and Jamaica, who won the other semifinal in 43.66 seconds

    The Nigerian relay team shows promises of winning Gold in the final of the event held in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

    Fresh from the Team’s Nigeria and African record-setting 42.22 seconds run in Oregon, the USA at the World Athletics Championships last month, the quartet broke 43 seconds again, running 42.59 seconds to qualify for the final.

    The time is the fastest in the semifinals ahead of England (42.72), who ran without 100m bronze medalist, Daryl Neita, and Jamaica, who won the other semifinal in 43.66 seconds without Tokyo Olympics double sprint champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah.

    The Nwokocha-led quartet will now be seeking to become the first Nigerian women’s relay team (women’s 4x100m and 4x400m) to win a Commonwealth Games title.

    Nigeria has won silver (2014) and bronze (1990 and 2018) in the 4x100m event in past editions and will feel it is time to move up to gold this time.