Team Nigeria delivered an impressive showing at the Lefika International Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, securing key victories in two of the four events contested to strengthen their bid for qualification for the World Athletics Relays.
The highlight of the outing came in the mixed 4x100m relay, where the Nigerian quartet of Chidera Ezeakor, Maria Omokwe, James Emmanuel and Jennifer Chukwuka stormed to victory in a record-breaking time of 41.44 seconds. The performance not only set a new national record but also established the first African record in the newly introduced event.
The result significantly boosted Nigeria’s qualification chances, lifting the team from 22nd to 12th in the global rankings—comfortably within the top 24 required to qualify for the World Relays. Kenya finished second in a national record time of 41.70 seconds, as Nigeria moved ahead of countries like Ecuador and Spain in the standings.
Nigeria also recorded a strong outing in the men’s 4x400m relay, finishing third with a season’s best of 3:02.98. The team of Samson Nathaniel, Emmanuel Ojeli, Victor Sampson and Sikiru Adeyemi delivered a solid performance to climb to 22nd place globally, pushing Thailand, Switzerland and Zambia out of qualification spots. Zimbabwe, who finished ahead of Nigeria in the race, moved up to 21st.
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Nigeria maintained their dominance, claiming victory with a season’s best time of 38.98 seconds. Enoch Adegoke, Chidera Ezeakor, Godwin Tejiri and Emmanuel James combined effectively, executing smooth baton exchanges and a strong finish to seal maximum points.
However, the mixed 4x400m relay team fell short of the required mark, posting a time of 3:16.33, leaving their qualification hopes in that event uncertain as the window draws to a close.
Nigeria’s performances in Botswana form part of a broader push to secure spots at the World Relays, where teams must rank among the top 24 globally in each event. Qualification is determined through a combination of automatic slots from the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025, host allocation, and top performances recorded between January 1, 2025, and April 5, 2026.
Earlier in the campaign, Nigeria had secured a provisional spot in the women’s 4x400m after clocking 3:31.14 at the MTN Champs Athletics Classics on March 7. However, the team has since slipped to 23rd position, just above the qualification cut-off.
With the deadline approaching and competition intensifying, Team Nigeria is set for a final push in the United States in a bid to secure qualification across multiple relay events.
