African Games: Team Nigeria dazzles on Athletics opening day
Team Nigeria athletes showcased impressive performances on Day 1 of athletics at the ongoing 13th African Games in Ghana.
In the men’s 100m event, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Consider Ekanem, and Israel Okon Sunday easily qualified for the semifinals. Similarly, Olayinka Olajide, Justina Eyakpobeyan, and Blessing Ogundiran advanced in the women’s category.
Chidi Okezie delivered a standout performance in the men’s 400m, clocking the second-fastest time overall with a brilliant season’s best of 45.89s. Dubem Nwachukwu and Sikiru Adeyemi also secured semifinal berths.
The women’s category saw impressive runs from Esther Joseph, Esther Okon, and Brittany Ogunmokun, all qualifying for the semifinals in the 400m event.
Itsekiri, Ekanem, Olajide, and Eyakpobeyan later progressed to the 100m final after winning their respective semifinal races.
In the women’s 800m, Comfort James secured her spot in the final with an equal personal best of 2:05.11.
The highlight of the day came from the mixed 4x400m relay team comprising Emmanuel Ojeli, Patience Okon-George, Samson Nathaniel, and Omolara Ogunmankinju. They set a season’s best and initial games record of 3:15.23 to advance to the final, only to be outdone by the Botswana team with a faster time of 3:14.36s in their semifinal race.
Overall, Team Nigeria’s athletes displayed promising performances, setting the stage for further success in the remainder of the competition.
