The Nigeria Women 4 by 400 meters have failed to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics despite finishing first in the final.
The team, consisting of Ella Onojuvwevwo, Patience Okon-George, Esther Elo Joseph, and Omolara Ogunmakinju, won the women’s 4x400m final on Wednesday with a time of 3:27.31 in Cameroon. However, this performance was not sufficient to earn a spot in Paris. Nigeria needed to surpass a time of 3:26.08 to overtake Cuba and qualify for the Olympics. Despite their gold medal win, Nigeria defeated Botswana and Zambia, who finished second and third respectively.
The women’s 4x100m relay remains the only event Nigeria has not qualified for, having secured the other four tickets during the World Relays in the Bahamas in May.
The team’s absence in the Bahamas was due to visa issues affecting some athletes, including Patience Okon-George, and an injury to Omolara Ogunmakinju, the 2023 African Games sensational anchor leg. With only three days left in the qualifying window, hopes for the quartet’s participation in Paris have dwindled.
In the men’s events, the quartet of Emmanuel Ojeli, Sikiru Adeyemi, Dubem Nwachukwu, and Samuel Ogazi also missed out on a podium finish in their final at the African Championships, coming in fourth with a time of 3:02.93, behind Zambia, Kenya, and Botswana.
