Nigeria’s athletes made an impressive start at the 2026 CAA African Senior Athletics Championships in Accra, Ghana, with several competitors advancing to the next stage of their events.
World record holder Tobi Amusan qualified for the women’s 100m hurdles final after clocking 12.82 seconds in the heats, marking her first hurdles race of the season.
She was joined in the final by Janet Sunday, who finished second in her heat behind Ghanaian record holder Evonne Britton during her debut appearance at the African Championships.
In the men’s 100m, Favour Ashe overcame an early scare after initially being disqualified for a false start before Nigeria successfully appealed the decision. Ashe later ran 10.55 seconds to secure a place in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
National Sports Festival champion Chidera Ezeakor also progressed after winning his heat in 10.38 seconds, finishing ahead of Ghana’s Abdul-Rasheed Saminu.
Nigeria also recorded success in the women’s 100m as Rosemary Chukwuma advanced comfortably with a time of 11.44 seconds in Heat 2. Miracle Ezechukwu and Tejiri Ugoh also booked places in the semi-finals.
In the 400m events, Samson Nathaniel, Sikiru Adeyemi and Esther Okon all qualified for the next round. Nathaniel impressed in the men’s race, edging past Uganda’s Omuka Kenneth and Kenya’s Musika Malongo to win his heat, while Adeyemi finished third in his race to progress.
