Sports
Nigeria secure World Relays tickets
Team Nigeria delivered a commanding performance at the Lefika International Relays in Gaborone, securing crucial victories in two of the four events contested and strengthening their push for qualification for the World Athletics Relays, Tidesports source reports.
The standout performance came in the mixed 4x100m relay, where Nigeria set a new African record of 41.44s to win the event.
The quartet of Chidera Ezeakor, Maria Omokwe, James Emmanuel and Jennifer Chukwuka produced a composed display to not only establish a national record but also set the first continental benchmark in the newly introduced discipline.
Their time propelled Nigeria from 22nd to 12th on the qualification ranking, placing them firmly within the top 24 required to secure a World Relays spot.
Kenya finished second in a national record time of 41.70s, as Nigeria moved ahead of Ecuador and Spain in the standings.
Nigeria also boosted their qualification hopes in the men’s 4x400m, where a season’s best of 3:02.98 secured a third-place finish behind Kenya and Zimbabwe.
The team of Samson Nathaniel, Emmanuel Ojeli, Victor Sampson and Sikiru Adeyemi delivered a strong race to climb into 22nd position on the global list, displacing Thailand, Switzerland and Zambia from qualification spots.
Zimbabwe, who finished ahead of Nigeria, moved into 21st place.
In the men’s 4x100m, Nigeria maintained their winning momentum despite not recording their fastest time, clocking a season’s best of 38.98s to grab victory.
The quartet of Enoch Adegoke, Chidera Ezeakor, Godwin Tejiri and Emmanuel James ensured maximum points with a disciplined baton exchange and strong finish.
However, the mixed 4x400m team fell short of another qualification mark after running 3:16.33, leaving their hopes in that event hanging in the balance ahead of the closing stages of the qualification window.
The performances in Botswana form part of Nigeria’s broader qualification campaign, with the World Relays requiring teams to rank among the top 24 globally in each event.
Qualification places are determined through a combination of host allocation, eight automatic spots from the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 and 15 additional teams from the top lists within the qualification period running from January 1, 2025, to April 5, 2026.
Nigeria had already secured a place in the women’s 4x400m earlier in the campaign after posting 3:31.14 at the MTN Champs Athletics Classics on March 7, but that position remains under threat as they have slipped to 23rd, just one place above the cut-off.
With global competition intensifying and several nations improving their times, Nigeria will make a final push for qualification in the United States in the coming days before the deadline.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria is aiming to secure representation across multiple relay events, with the recent results in Gaborone significantly boosting their chances.