Category: Athletics

Tobi Amusan Wins Gold In Women 100m Hurdles Final

Nigerian female athlete, Tobi Amusan has won a gold medal in the women’s 100 meters hurdles final at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK.

Amusan set the new record after completing the race within 12.30 seconds to beat the Commonwealth game world record.

Amusan last month broke her first ever worldwide title and medal for the 100 meters hurdle in the semi-finals.

With the present success, Amusan is the first Nigerian to win a gold medal in the Athletics World Championships.…

Tobi Amusan wins historic World Athletics Championship gold for Nigeria

World 100m hurdles record holder, Tobi Amusan, in the early hours of Monday (Sunday in Oregon), won the women’s 100m hurdles gold at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

And she did it by going faster than the 12.12s world record time she ran in the semi-finals, but her 12.06s in the final wasn’t recognized as a world record owing to the over 2m/s wind speed.

Amusan had blitzed to a world record 12.12s in the semi-finals but obliterated that mark with a superb 12.06s to become the first Nigerian to win gold in the history of the World Athletics Championships.

Nigeria had won a total of nine medals, comprising four silver and five bronze before Amusan destroyed a strong field in the final.

Three years ago, Amusan had finished fourth in Doha, Qatar.

She had earlier taken eight hundredths of a second off American Keni Harrison‘s world record from 2016. Amusan’s previous personal best before the semi-final was 12.40, set in the first round on Saturday in Oregon.…

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan breaks 100m hurdles world record with time of 12.12 seconds

Tobi Amusan broke the 100m hurdles world record with a stunning semi-final time of 12.12 seconds – before taking gold at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

The previous record of 12.20 was set in 2016 by American Kendra Harrison.

Jamaica’s Britany Anderson took silver and Puerto Rico’s Olympic champion Jasmine Camacho-Quinn got bronze.

Amusan, who had already run a new African record of 12.40 seconds in Saturday’s heats, said: “I believe in my abilities but I was not expecting a world record at these championships.

“I wanted to get out and go. I did what I had to do.”

Great Britain’s Cindy Sember finished fourth in the semi-final won by Amusan, but qualified for the final with a British record of 12.50, beating sister Tiffany Porter’s 2014 mark by one hundredth of a second.

It was one of four national records, excluding Amusan’s, run in the semi-finals, with another seven athletes equalling or breaking their personal bests.

“That was a crazy race. I actually thought I was running slow. Tobi was amazing, I can’t deny,” said Sember, who went on to finish fifth in the final.…

Nigeria celebrates as men’s 4x100m relay team makes it to Oregon

Twenty-four hours after Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team was disqualified from Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships due to Blessing Okagbare’s additional one-year drug ban, officials of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) were in joyous mood following confirmation that the country has officially qualified for two relay events, including the men’s 4x100m.

World Athletics officially confirmed Nigeria’s qualification for two, out of the five relay events for Oregon 2022, which holds from July 15 to 25 in the United States.

Apart from the Men’s 4x100m relay squad, Nigerian athletes will also compete in the 4x400m Mixed Relay event.

For the 4x100m event, Nigeria, against all odds, secured qualification from the just concluded National Trials in Benin-City, Edo State, where the quartet of Favour Ashe, Godson Brume, Alaba Akintola, and reigning World U-20 champion, Udodi Onwuzurike, stormed to a Season’s Best Time of 38.35 seconds on an opening day.

The winning time saw Nigeria leapfrog South Africa into the 16th position, which is the last qualifying spot for the World Championships.

Just before the National Trials ended in Benin City on Sunday, news filtered into the stadium that Liberia had done a better time to push Nigeria from the 16th spot. It sparked apprehension among the athletes and their coaches.

But it has turned out to be mere speculation, following the confirmation by the World Athletics of Nigeria’s 4x100m team qualification for Oregon.

Though Nigeria squeezed into the top 16th position among the qualified countries, AFN President, Tonobok Okowa, told The Guardian that the qualification is a moral booster for Team Nigeria.

“I am sure this will boost the morale of our athletes, coaches and everyone involved in this qualifying campaign,” Okowa stated.

Head coach of the AFN, former jumper, hurdler and sprinter, Seigha Porbeni, also spoke with The Guardian, yesterday, saying that more work would be done to turn the men’s 4x100m relay team into a medal-winning squad at Oregon 2022.

Porbeni described as ‘unfortunate’ the disqualification of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m team from the World Championships after it initially qualified …

Okagbare’s additional one-year ban has badly depleted our squad, AFN laments

For the first time, Nigeria’s athletics is feeling the impact of the ban placed on U.S.-based sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, who was handed an extra one-year suspension on Monday night for doping violations.

Okagbare will now be out from athletics scene for 11 years after an extra year was added to the previous 10-year ban she received from World Athletics on February 14, 2021.

Before her 10-year ban last year, Okagbare had helped the Nigerian 4x100m relay team to qualify for the World Championships during an event held at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, where she, alongside Grace Nwokocha, Rosemary Chukwuma and Tima Godbless competed in an International Relay race attended by some other African countries.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, an official of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), described as ‘sad development’ the additional one-year ban placed on Okagbare.

“This additional one-year ban on Okagbare has completely depleted our squad to the World Championships,” the official said. “Between our men and the women’s teams, our hope for medals was more on the girls because for the first time in a long while, we have four of our women running sub 10.00 seconds, which is good for Nigeria. Even without Okagbare, we still had a strong relay squad, but this additional one-year ban is a big disaster for us.”

MEANWHILE, the additional one-year ban on Okagbare may not affect Nigeria’s women 4x100m relay team’s participation at the Commonwealth Games next month in Birmingham, England.

Another official of the AFN told The Guardian that the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) rules apply only to events being organised by World Athletics. I can tell you that our women’s 4x100m relay team to the Commonwealth Games is intact because it is a competition by entry and not by standard as stipulated by World Athletics.
All these Out of Competition Tests (OCT), which our athletes do before attending World Athletics events, are not applicable to the Commonwealth Games,” the official explained.

The Guardian recalls that early last year, Okagbare was handed a career-ending 10-year ban …

BBNaija star Mike Edwards crowned 2-time Nigerian high jump champion

Nigeria grabs first gold medal at World U20 Championship, sets new record

• Godson Brume, Praise Ofoku in 100m final
Team Nigeria became the center of attraction at the Kasarani Stadium, venue of the ongoing World U20 Championship in Nairobi yesterday, as the country’s 4x400m mixed relay team grabbed the first gold medal at the event. They also set Championship record twice.

After Nnamani Johnson, Opeyemi Oke, Ajayi Bamidele and Imaobong Nse Uko dazzled the spectators with a new record of 3:21.66 on their way to the final, the athletes increased their pace in the final race to shock the entire crowd with their spectacular display of talent, which earned Team Nigeria, the gold medal with another Championship record of 3; 19.70. The first time in a long while, Nigeria’s flag was held by the athletes running round the entire stadium with cheers from the spectators.

In the women’s 100m semifinal event, Praise Ofoku gave the spectators a tip of what to expect in today’s final as she powered past all contestants to anchor at a time of 11.57 seconds. She came from behind to win the ticket to the final.

Nigeria’s hope of having two women runners in today’s 100m final was aborted when God bless Tima ran a slow race of 11.61 second to finish in the 8th position.

Tima had earlier in the day run 11.59sec to raise the hope of Nigerians.

One of Nigeria’s best male junior sprinters, Godson Brume lived up to the expectations of the people yesterday, as he raced to the men’s 100m final in 10.24 seconds.

Brume, who is the younger brother of Tokyo Olympics medalist Ese Brume, had run 10.35 second earlier in the day to win the heat.

Team Nigeria now has two contestants in today’s 100m event, one each in male and female categories.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa was full of praises for the athletes and their coaches. He stated that the gold medal was a good beginning for the current AFN board.

Also, former AFN President Solomon Ogba commended the …

Minister sets up panel to probe disqualification of 10 Nigerian athletes in Tokyo

Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, has set up a panel to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disqualification of 10 Nigerian athletes at the just concluded Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Team Nigeria finished in the 74th position on the overall table and sixth best in Africa with a silver and a bronze medal at the end of the Games. The country’s participation was nearly marred by controversies arising from disqualification of athletes over non-compliance with anti-doing rules and the provisional suspension placed on Nigeria’s top sprinter, Blessing Okagbare.

“I have ordered a full investigation that will not only uncover what happened, but will also recommend a process where such lapses can never occur in the future and initiate leveraging compliance monitoring technology to guardrail this,” Dare stated yesterday in a press release made available to The Guardian. He continues: “First is the mishap resulting in 10 Team Nigeria athletes being ruled ineligible to compete for missing their mandatory Out of Competition Test (OTC). When notice of this ruling got to me, I immediately mobilized my team and the AFN leadership to see how the situation could be salvaged. We mounted a vigorous appeal process with Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) and had the team members complete the tests. However, timing became the critical issue. Despite our energetic appeal, the deciding committee made its announcement, which gave no latitude to our team members for what was only an inadvertent lapse.

Dare accepted “some institutional responsibility for this lapse,” adding, however, “I also had to depend and expect that each person, in the long and often technical chain, will perform their role expeditiously, and with precision. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line someone failed in their responsibility and as minister, I bear the responsibility and brunt of criticism. But that is not enough. I must move to ensure that Nigeria never experiences another such moment.

“I have personally apologized to the affected athletes. Here and now, I personally apologize to all Nigerians for this ineligibility episode. The AFN has also taken responsibility and apologized to the …

Five ‘Nigerians’ who won medals for other countries

There is hardly any top sporting competition in the world that Nigerian names don’t pop up even if the Green and White flag of the country is conspicuously absent.

From the American Super Bowl to the NBA and even the recent Euro 2020, participants with Nigerian lineage are always present.

The situation was not any different at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics even though Team Nigeria was actually on parade in Japan – returning home with two medals.

The 27-year old was part of the all-conquering Italian Men’s 4x100m quartet that stormed to gold in Tokyo.

Though Desalu is of Nigerian origin, he was born and raised in Italy and acquired full Italian citizenship in 2012.

“I have never been to Nigeria and, right now [2019], I don’t feel the need to go. I don’t even know the national anthem of Nigeria. My roots are in Africa and I don’t ignore them but I consider myself deeply Italian,” Eseosa said.

While Desalu is celebrating his gold for Italy, Nigeria failed to qualify for the men’s 4x100m event in Tokyo despite pushing hard after failing to attend the World Relays where they could have gotten a ticket more easily.

Ujah Chindu

Competing in his second Olympic Games for Great Britain after his debut in Rio, Ujah narrowly missed out on the 4x100m gold but would be pleased with the silver nonetheless.

Ujah’s father was an engineer who moved from Nigeria to England as a boy. The sprinter admits it was difficult convincing his father that a career in athletics was the right choice for him.

“I used to play football for my local club and was pretty good. Dad was not too impressed about football and he didn’t like the idea of me going pro. When I was doing athletics he thought it was just a hobby, and I set my heart on showing him that it wasn’t just a little thing on the side.

“He got a letter in the post when I was 17 saying I’d been selected for the …

Nigeria’s medal chase ends as Enekwechi, women relay team crash in Tokyo

Nigeria’s search for more medals at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games did not yield any fruit yesterday as a shot putter, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, and the women’s 4×100 meters relay team could not make the podium.

Nigeria had earlier in the competition won a silver medal through wrestler, Blessing Oborodudu and long jumper, Ese Brume.

Followers of the events in Tokyo always knew that it would take a miracle for Enekwechi and the relay girls to add to Nigeria’s medals due to their low ranking among the contestants.

Enekwechi was eliminated in the final round of the men’s shot put after throwing 19.74 meter to finish last in the 12-man contest, while the relay team could not go beyond the second preliminary round of the 4×100 meter.

Yesterday, Nigeria’s ambassador to Japan, Abubakar Moriki Husaini, hosted Team Nigeria in his residence in appreciation of their efforts at the Games.

Ambassador Husaini, in the company of his staff, thanked the contingent, especially the medalists, for making the country proud during the Olympics 2020.

Speaking at the event, Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, expressed his delight at the support received from the Nigerian Embassy in Japan, just as he thanked the athletes for their exploits in Tokyo.

He said, “I have to sincerely thank all the athletes and officials that have worked assiduously to make Team Nigeria a success. To compete and win medals at the Olympics is a great honor in the country of over 200 million people.

The Federal Government of Nigeria is proud of you all, but let me quickly add that the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development will take care of the treatment of Enoch Adegoke, Blessing Oborodudu, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and Usheoritse Itsekiri plus any of the athletes that are nursing any injury.”…

Nigerian gold medalists to receive $15,000

The Federal Government has announced a reward of $15,000, $10,000, $7,500 respectively for gold, silver, and bronze medalists at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics.

This was disclosed by Simon Ebohdjaiye, who is the Director, Federation and Elite Athletes Department (FEAD), Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

Ebohdjaiye stated this while speaking on Tuesday in Tokyo, shortly after wrestler Blessing Oborodudu won Team Nigeria’s second medal at the Games.

He said the reward was reviewed, due to the dedication of the athletes.

“Gold medallist will now be rewarded with 15,000 dollars, while silver and bronze medal winners will each get 10,000 dollars and 7,500 dollars respectively.

“The earlier award is 5,000 dollars for gold, 3,000 dollars for silver, and 2,000 dollars for bronze,” he said.

Oborodudu is the first Nigerian wrestler to win an Olympic medal, claiming silver in the women’s 68kg freestyle.

Earlier on, Ese Brume, who won the country’s first medal at the Games with a bronze in long jump.…

Okagbare, Nwokocha advance to 100m semi-finals

For the first time since 2012, two Nigerian athletes will be running in the semifinals of the women’s 100m after Blessing Okagbare and Nzubechi Grace Nwokocha qualified from their respective heats Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

Nwokocha had to run a new personal best of 11.00 seconds to secure her qualification to the semis in what is her debut Olympic Games.

The 20-year-old has also moved into fifth in the Nigeria all-time list behind Okagbare (10.79), Glory Alozie (10.90), Mary Onyali (10.97), and Damola Osayomi (10.99).

The Nigerian-based athlete, who ran 11.09s personal best at the time, back in March, to secure her qualification for the Olympics at the MOC Grand Prix in Lagos, will, however, need to make further history by breaking the 11-second barrier to stand a chance of joining Onyali and Okagbare as debutants who ran to the final of the 100m event.

She has been drawn to run from lane nine in the third semifinal heat with the fastest woman alive, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica, Daryl Neita of Great Britain, Teahna Daniels of the USA and fellow African, Muriel Ahoure, of the Ivory Coast.

While Nwokocha qualified for her first semifinal, Okagbare will be running in her third since she made her debut in the event at the 2012 Olympics in London.

The 32-year-old ran 11.05 seconds to win her first-round heat.

She has been drawn in the first semifinal heat alongside two heavyweights of the event, defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica, who ran 10.82s to win her first-round heat, and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, the 200m world champion two years ago in Doha, Qatar, who ran 11.07s to come second in her first-round heat.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics long jump silver medalist will be in action at exactly 11.15 am Nigerian time on Saturday.…

The Olympic Games’ medal table after day four

1. Japan: 13 gold, 4 silver, 5 bronze, 22 total
2. China: 12 gold, 6 silver, 9 bronze, 27 total
3. USA: 11 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze, 31 total
4. Russian Olympic Committee: 7 gold, 10 silver, 6 bronze, 23 total
5. Australia: 6 gold, 1 silver, 9 bronze, 16 total
6. Great Britain: 5 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze, 16 total
7. South Korea: 4 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze, 11 total
8. Germany: 3 gold, 2 silver, 5 bronze, 10 total
9. France: 3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze, 8 total
10. Netherlands: 2 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze, 11 total
11. Canada: 2 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze, 9 total
12. Hungary: 2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 5 total
13. Slovenia: 2 gold 1 silver, 1 bronze, 4 total
14. Kosovo: 2 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
15. Italy: 1 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze, 15 total
16. Switzerland: 1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze, 6 total
17. Chinese Taipei: 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze, 6 total
18. Brazil: 1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze, 5 total
19. Georgia: 1 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze, 3 total
20. Romania: 1 gold, 2 silver, 0 bronze, 3 total
21. Serbia: 1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze, 4 total
22. Austria: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total
23. Hong Kong: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
24. Tunisia: 1 gold, 1 silver, 0 bronze, 2 total
25. Croatia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
26. Estonia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
27. Uzbekistan: 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze, 2 total
28. Bermuda: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
29. Ecuador: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
30. Fiji: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
31. Iran: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
32. Latvia: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
33. Norway: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
34. Philippines: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
35. Thailand: 1 gold, 0 silver, 0 bronze, 1 total
36. Spain: 0 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total
37. New Zealand: 0 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze, 3 total

Who will take over Bolt’s 100-metre crown?

The sporting world is beginning to hold its breath as the men’s 100-metre Olympic sprint final comes into view.

Usain Bolt took gold in the blue-riband event at the last three editions of the Games in Beijing, London and Rio de Janeiro.

But with the Jamaican now retired, all eyes are on a new crop of sprinters to take on the mantle of the fastest man in the world.

Bolt will be hard to eclipse totally, given his still extraordinary world record high-water mark of 9.58 seconds, but the likes of Trayvon Bromell, Ronnie Baker and Akani Simbine have shown their credentials of late.

Akani Simbine posted 9.84 recently – the second-fastest time of the year – behind only

Trayvon Bromell clocked 9.77 in Florida in June.

Ronnie Baker set a personal best time of 9.85 seconds at the Olympic Trials, finishing second to Trayvon Bromell with his winning time of 9.80 seconds

With the mentioned trio still young in their careers, whoever takes the crown on Sunday in Tokyo could become the leader of a new generation of sprinting superstars.…

Top 5 Olympic Moments

Blood, sweat, and tears doesn’t even come close. At the Olympic Games, everything’s on the line — making each and every triumph that much bigger, bolder, and at times, breathtaking. As the events come to a close Sochi, we’re looking back at the 25 most incredible, awe-inspiring Olympic moments of all time.

5. Michael Johnson

The Ancient Greeks would’ve appreciated this feat. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, Michael Johnson took home two gold medals while crushing two world records along the way. First was the 400-meter race, where he whipped around the track in 43.49 seconds. With only a few days rest in between, Johnson came back to the track to take gold in the 200-meter sprint, becoming the first man to win both races in the same Olympic Games.

4. Nigerian Dream Team 

Nicknamed the Dream Team, the Nigeria U23 team then handled by Coach Jo Bonfere shocked the world to become the first black nation to win the prestigious football gold. After the amazing comeback against Brazil in a thrilling semi-final match that Papilo Kanu Nwankwo helped engineer, the Nigeria team went on to beat Argentina in the finals to complete their amazing run in the God’s Own country.

3. Derek Redmond

Derek Redmond, a British runner specializing in the 400 meters, tore his hamstring halfway through a semi-final race in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. A favorite for the medals podium, Redmond refused to give up and rose to finish the race despite his intense pain. But the most memorable moment came next, when the runner’s father leapt over the railing from the stands and helped his son complete the race. Steps from the finish line and with the crowd cheering them on, he let go of Derek, so his son could cross the finish line by himself

2. Michael Phelps

Call him “The Phenomenon” or “The Fish,” Michael Phelps gave new meaning to blowing the competition out of the water at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The American swimmer took home (count ’em!) eight gold medals, …

Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Nigeria seal Women’s 4x400m Relay qualification

Team Nigeria’s women 4x400m relay team will be among the 16 nations that will file out for the event at the delayed 2020 Olympics after the team scorched to a 3:26.84 African lead on Thursday at the Lagos Open Athletics Championship in Lagos.

The team, anchored by Patience Okon-George, has now jumped to the front of the queue for the four available slots on offer for the event in Tokyo.

The quartet of World U-18 fastest girl so far this year, Imaobong Nse Uko; NCAA 200m finalist, Favour Ofili; Knowledge Omovoh; and Okon-George, is now ranked 13th in the ranking for the best 16 nations, that will be in Tokyo ahead of Belarus (3:28.14), Australia (3:28.64) and Switzerland (3:28.77), who have all provisionally qualified.

The 4x400m team has now become the second Nigerian relay team to qualify after the women’s 4x100m team led by Blessing Okagbare sealed their passage to the games with a 42.97 seconds run at the National Championship (Olympic Trials) last Thursday at the sports ground of Yaba College of Technology, Yaba, Lagos.

Nigeria won a silver medal in the event 25 years ago at the Atlanta Olympics, where Falilat Ogunkoya led Charity Opara, Bisi Afolabi and Fatimah Yusuf to also set a new 3:21.04 seconds African record.

The men’s 4x100m team however failed to make it despite improving to 38.59 seconds.

The men’s 4x400m team also failed to qualify, but will, together with the 4x100m and 4x400m mixed relay teams, get their final chance to book their flights to Tokyo at the MOC Relays on Sunday at the Sports ground of Yaba College of Technology, Yaba in Lagos.…

Usain Bolt has twin boys – Thunder and Saint Leo

All-time Olympic great sprinter Usain Bolt and his partner Kasi Bennett announced Sunday the birth of twin boys, who have been named Thunder Bolt and Saint Leo Bolt.

Day family photo, showing a lightning bolt emoji next to each of his children’s names in the caption, without stating when the twins were born.

Bennett also posted a shot of the couple posing with the twins and daughter Olympia Lightning Bolt captioned: “Happy Father’s Day to my forever love! @usainbolt You are the rock of this family and the greatest daddy to our little ones. We love you world without end!”

Olympia Lightning was born in May 2020 but the name was only announced two months later.

Messages of congratulations poured in after Bolt’s Instagram announcement, from fans as well as athletes — including fellow Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, American 200m specialist Wallace Spearmon and 200m world champion Dina Asher-Smith of Britain who posted “Congratulations so adorable!”

The 34-year-old Bolt, who won eight gold medals at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Games, will not be competing at the Covid-delayed Tokyo Olympics next month after retiring in 2017.

The fastest man in history, Bolt holds the world records for 100 metres and 200 metres. He is the only sprinter to win the 100m and 200m double at three consecutive Olympics.…

Okagbare runs world lead 10.63 seconds at national trials in Lagos

Team Nigeria’s preparation for the Tokyo Olympics Games recorded a positive result yesterday, as U.S.-based sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, ran 10.63 seconds, the fastest time by any woman in the world this year. It was aided by wind 2.7.

Unofficially, Okagbare’s time was recorded as 10.62 seconds.

She won the 100m event of the National Trials at the Yaba College of Technology ahead of Rosemary Chukwuma of Team Delta, who posted a time of 11.07 seconds. Another Delta athlete, Grace Nwokocha, ran 11.11 seconds to place third.

Earlier this year, Okagbare ran 10.90 seconds to finish second behind her Jamaican rival, Shelly-Ann Praser-Pryce, who ran 10.60 seconds. Some weeks later, the Jamaican ran 10.63 seconds at Kingston National stadium.

On sighting the record time of 10.62 seconds at the end of the race yesterday, Okagbare fell flat on the track, rolled several times in celebration.…

Ese Brume erases Chioma Ajunwa’s 25-year-old long jump record

Jumps 7.17m to set world lead record

Twenty-five years after long jumper, Chioma Ajunwa, conquered the world by winning a gold medal at Atlanta ‘96 Olympics, another Nigerian, Ese Brume, has made big headlines in that country, this time in the city of California.

Brume, who was Nigeria’s only athlete to reach the final of any event at the Rio 2016 Olympics in Brazil, jumped a distance of 7.17m on Saturday at Chile Vista Festival in California to become the first African woman to ever make such a mark. She shattered Ajunwa’s 25-year-old Long Jump record of 7.12m in the process. Brume’s jump was also a World Lead.

“I am so glad for this achievement,” Brume told The Guardian on phone from California in the early hours of yesterday.

Jumping six times, Brume saved the best for the last, leaping that mark on her very last attempt after jumping 6.83m (three times) and 6.88m once.

 …

Team Nigeria beat Canada, Trinidad, others at U.S. relay tour

Team Nigeria’s relays tour of the United States yielded some positive results yesterday, as the country’s men and women 4x100m teams finished tops in their respective races in Texas.

Team Nigeria started the tour of U.S three weeks ago with the PVAMU Invitational in Texas, where the mixed relay team posted a good result.

At yesterday’s event also held in Texas, Team Nigeria defeated Canada, Trinidad and Tobago and some other American clubs in the women’s 4x100m, posting a time of 43.06 seconds, which puts the country at number 11 in the world and number one for the remaining spot at the Tokyo Olympics. Team U.S.A could not raise a complete squad for the relay events yesterday.

Joy Udo-Gabriel started the women’s 4x100m race and handed over to Grace Nwokocha, who handed the baton to Rosemary Chukwuma before Commonwealth Games and two-time African champion, Tobi Amusan, who arrived Team Nigeria’s camp a few days ago, anchored the race in lane 4.

In the men’s 4x100m relay, Nigeria also won, with Enoch Adegoke starting the race and handing the baton to Chidi Okezie, who handed it to Jerry Jakpa, while Godson Brume anchored in lane 5 amidst terrible weather.

Bad weather (lightening and thunder) temporarily put the event on hold. Before then, Nigeria’s long jumper, Ese Brume, was leading her event with 6.61m.

Meanwhile, former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chief Solomon Ogba, has praised the athletes for their performances despite the terrible weather condition in Texas yesterday.

…