Nigeria’s men 4x400m relay looks set to miss out of the World Athletics Championship in Tokyo, Japan as the ongoing CAA Region II could not provide the needed succour .
The team’s hope of picking the qualifying mark failed once again to materialise leaving the athletes and Nigeria wondering where next to look up to for redemption.
The team at the CAA region 2 Championships needed an extra fast leg to run below three minutes and qualify for the World Championships in Tokyo Japan next month.
Running Tuesday morning at the University of Ghana Sports Complex, Gafari Badmus led the team to a 3.05.22secs finish ahead of Ghana who returned a time of 3.06.34 secs.
The Nigeria team has to run at least 2.56.00 to overhaul Zambia in the top 16 qualifiers August 24 is the deadline.
Coach Tony Osheku said “All we needed was a 44 runner, but we didn’t have the luxury of bringing Samuel Ogazi and Chidi Okezie here, we could have made that mark,”
He added “But our boys did their best, I’m sure if there is another opportunity for them to compete they can make an improvement.” .
In the women’s 4x400m, Patience Okon George rediscovered her form, but it was not good enough to lead the Nigerian quartet into the qualification zone; they ran 3.33.83secs to best Ghana with a time of 3.46.63secs for the gold.
“Okon-George was remarkable in her lap, she posted a 51.1, unlike on Monday in the 400m flat. She wasn’t feeling too well in that race.
Osheku added “But we are satisfied with their performance even as they couldn’t run what we desire.” .
The 4x100m teams on Monday despite dominating the event, also did not hit the World Championships qualifying mark.
In the meantime, the National Sports Commission (NSC), has been urged to speed up the payments of grants to elite Nigerian athletes ahead of the World Championships billed for Tokyo, Japan September 13-21, 2025.
As the athletes prepare for the World Athletics show piece, coaches are worried about the silence of the NSC with regards to paying grants to elite athletes earlier in the year.
Gabriel Opuana, President of the Nigeria Coaches Association said “Some athletes have been paid grants while others have not been paid,” said .
Meanwhile some of the US based athletes who are competing at the CAA region 2 have expressed concerns about the lack of incentives offered to them for coming home to participate in the National trials and then staying behind for the Championship in Accra, Ghana.
Coach Tony Osheku said “These are athletes who are supposed to be doing summer jobs to help their finances in the USA.
“They are going back to school without receiving any incentives for representing Nigeria, it will be good for the NSC to kindly honour their commitment,”
The athletes include: • Favour Onyah, • Pristina Ochonogor and Onwaeze Nnamdi
