Nigeria’s quest for automatic qualification in the relay events at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo suffered a major blow on Sunday, as both the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams failed to meet the required qualifying standards during the National Trials held at the Yaba College of Technology in Lagos.
In the men’s 4x400m final, the Nigerian Team A—comprising Samuel Ogazi, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Gafar Badmus, and Chidi Okezie—finished first with a time of 3:03.68, dominating the race by more than 30 metres. However, their performance fell short of the 2:59.12 needed to replace Zambia as the 16th and final team currently holding an automatic qualification spot.
Individually, the quartet posted respectable split times: Ogazi (46.30s), Nathaniel (45.77s), Badmus (45.02s), and Okezie (46.25s). Yet, the combined effort was not enough to lift Nigeria into the global top 16.
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Nigeria’s Team A finished in 40.05 seconds, far off the 37.87-second threshold currently held by the Netherlands, who recently surged into the qualifying zone alongside Jamaica. Nigeria, previously ranked 17th, now faces stiffer competition to reclaim a spot.
The setbacks were compounded by the overall poor showing of Nigeria’s relay teams across the board. At present, none of the country’s relay squads—men’s 4x100m, men’s 4x400m, women’s 4x100m, women’s 4x400m, or the mixed 4x400m—are ranked within the automatic qualification bracket for Tokyo.
In fact, Nigeria holds 17th position in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m events. The women’s team, with a season-best time of 42.70 seconds set during the Paris 2024 Olympics, trails behind Australia (42.48s) and Ivory Coast (42.63s). The men’s 4x400m squad is ranked 22nd, while the women’s 4x400m and mixed relay teams are 19th and 17th respectively.
A combination of factors has hindered Nigeria’s efforts. Several of the nation’s top female sprinters were unavailable for the trials in Lagos, weakening the competitiveness of both the women’s and mixed relay events. Additionally, the absence of foreign opposition at the meet limited the opportunity to meet World Athletics’ relay qualification standards, which require the presence of international teams for times to be ratified.
Nigeria’s failure to participate in the World Relays held in China earlier this year has also left the country playing catch-up in the qualification race. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) had banked on strong performances at the National Trials to close the gap, particularly after recent improvements by Jamaica and the Netherlands knocked Nigeria’s men’s 4x100m team out of contention.
Team Ghana participated in the Lagos trials and placed third in the men’s 4x400m, while Nigeria’s Team B—composed of U-20 athletes—took second place in the same event, showing promise for future competitions.
Despite the current disappointment, Nigeria still has three more opportunities to book their place in Tokyo. The teams are scheduled to compete at the Togo Championships on August 9, the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana from August 15 to 16, and the Ghanaian Championships from August 21 to 22. The qualification window closes on August 24, giving Nigeria a narrow but crucial window to turn things around.
