Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team delivered a historic performance at the African Athletics Championships in Accra on Friday, smashing the championship record to successfully defend their title, while the men’s quartet settled for silver behind a dominant Ivory Coast side.
The Nigerian women’s team, made up of Rosemary Nwankwo, Jennifer Chukwuka Obi, Rosemary Chukwuma and Miracle Ezechukwu, stormed to victory in a record-breaking time of 42.94 seconds at the University of Ghana Stadium.
Their remarkable run made them the first women’s team to dip below the 43-second mark in the history of the event at the African Championships. Liberia finished second, while hosts Ghana claimed bronze.
The feat also matched Nigeria’s season-best performance and further underlined the country’s dominance in women’s sprinting on the continent.
In the men’s 4x100m final, Nigeria’s quartet of Favour Ashe, James Taiwo Emmanuel, Tejiri Godwin and Chidera Ezeakor clocked 38.70 seconds to secure silver.
Ezeakor produced a strong anchor leg to overtake Ghana at the finish line, but Nigeria could not catch Ivory Coast, whose team won gold with an impressive 38.52 seconds. Ghana settled for bronze.
The relay medals added to Nigeria’s impressive outing at the championships, which began on May 12 and will conclude on May 17 in Accra.
Earlier in the competition, Ezeakor claimed bronze in the men’s 100m after posting 10.32 seconds, the same time recorded by South Africa’s silver medallist Bradley Nkoana, who was awarded second place based on countback. Cameroon’s Emmanuel Eseme won gold in 10.26 seconds.
Chukwuma also narrowly missed out on individual gold in the women’s 100m. The Nigerian sprinter finished with the same time of 11.49 seconds as Cameroon’s Hervérge Kole Etame, who claimed gold after a countback decision. Liberia’s Thelma Davies took bronze in 11.51 seconds
