The penultimate day of the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays Lagos proved to be an enticing one, with the Mixed 4x100m and Mixed 4x400m relay finals taking centre stage, as well as a few sprint finals, Akanimo Kufre reports.
The highlight of the day was the Mixed 4x100m final, making its debut in Nigeria after being officially sanctioned by World Athletics last month. The event is set to be showcased at next month’s World Relays in China.
Representing Team Continental, the quartet of Iyanuoluwa Bada, Janet Adesiyan, Chidera Ezeakor, and Favour Ashe delivered a stellar performance in the Mixed 4x100m final, clocking a national-leading time of 42.91s to claim victory. They finished ahead of Zabranto Athletics (44.69s), D’Victors A (44.88s), and Benin Republic (45.22s).
In the Mixed 4x400m event, a formidable team consisting of Miracle Donald-Uwem, Samson Nathaniel, Patience Okon-George, and Emmanuel Ojeli stormed to victory in 3:21.63, finishing ahead of Team MTN (3:31.09) and St. Christy Track Club (3:33.96).
The Junior Men’s 400m final saw Team MTN’s Ezekiel Asuquo cause a major upset, handing favourite Gafar Badmus his first defeat of the season. Asuquo clinched the win with an impressive PB of 47.26s, while Badmus settled for 2nd in 47.47s, followed by Eniola Shiro in 48.53s.
Toheebat Jimoh extended Team MTN’s dominance in the Junior Women’s 400m, executing a well-strategized race to pull away from the field and secure victory in 55.7h. Bamidele Aishat (57.2h) and Victory Solomon (57.6h) rounded out the podium.
In the Senior men’s 200m semifinals, Emmanuel Ojeli took command, posting the fastest time of 21.07s ahead of Chidera Ezeakor (21.30s) and Thankgod Igube (21.54s).
Patience Okon-George led the women’s 200m semis with a Season’s Best (SB) of 24.03s, finishing ahead of Iyanuoluwa Bada (24.20s) and Miracle Donald-Uwem (24.53s).
In the Junior Men’s category, John Caleb positioned himself for a sprint double, clocking a new PB of 21.19s to top the qualifiers. Qudus Akintoye (21.38s) and Ezekiel Asuquo (21.50s) followed as the 2nd and 3rd fastest.
Hafsoh Bisola, Lucy Nwankwo (24.99s), and Mariam Jegede (25.23s) emerged as the overall fastest qualifiers in the Junior women’s 200m semis.
Meanwhile, on Thursday thrilling moments and high competitiveness were noticeable on the day-2 of the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays at Yabatech and Unilag Sports Complexes in Lagos.
Six-time national women’s 400m champion, and Africa Games Gold Medalist, Patience Okon-George, cruised to victory in the women’s 400m, extending her dominance from the previous day with a strong Season’s Best (SB) of 52.67s. She finished ahead of Team MTN’s Miracle Donald-Uwem (55.10s) and Pemisire Adepoju Adedoyin (56.29s).
Similarly, former national champion Samson Nathaniel claimed victory in the men’s 400m, crossing the line in 46.71s. Team MTN’s Benjamin Magaji matched his Personal Best (PB) of 48.04s to secure 2nd place, while Deji Sholotan finished 3rd in 48.31s.
As anticipated, Ashe blazed to victory in the men’s 100m, clocking 10.28s ahead of Chidera Ezeakor (10.38s) and Thankgod Igube (10.49s) at the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relay.
Iyanoluwa Bada secured the women’s title with a marginal wind-aided time of 11.30s (+2.6m/s), while Flore-Julie Krakre and Janet Adesiyan finished 2nd and 3rd in 11.86s and 11.90s, respectively.
In the junior category, John Caleb extended his unbeaten streak, claiming the men’s 100m title with a time of 10.45s. Qudus Akintoye followed in 10.65s, while Abdulrahman Jimoh secured 3rd place in 10.75s.
Team MTN’s Lucy Nwankwo dipped under 12 seconds for the first time, leading a Team MTN sweep in the junior women’s 100m final. She set a new lifetime best of 11.99s, finishing ahead of Mercy Ogbonna (12.16s) and Azeezat Muhammed Raji (12.18s), with all three improving on their personal bests from the semifinals.
Hamid Sambo was the man to beat in the 1500m, returning a time of 3.59.12, while Ronke Akanbi won the women’s event as fledgling athletes continue to dazzle at MTN CHAMPS.
Rukevwe Godsgift Nwagbowu caused an upset in the men’s Long Jump, dethroning favorite Ibukun Daramola with a winning leap of 7.47m. Daramola recorded 7.39m in his final attempt to place 2nd, while Jeffrey Miracle secured 3rd with 7.25m.
In the womelong jump, Mary Adeniran, set a new PB of 6.14m to clinch the title. Glory Jarrett and Precious Okoronkwo followed in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
