Team Nigeria may not have finished on the podium in the 4x100m mixed relay team at the World Relays in Gaborone, but their 40.24sec time was good enough to secure qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in China and an African record.
The former record of 41.44sec was set by Team Nigeria’s quartet of Chidera Ezeakor,Maria Thompson, James Taiwo Emmanuel and Jennifer Chukwuka at the Lefika International Relays in Gaborone on March 28, 2026.
VDCInsights reports that the quartet of Favour Ashe, Jennifer Chukwuka-Obi, Chidera Ezeakor, and Maria Thompson, clocked 40.24 seconds to finish fourth in Heat 1 on Saturday.
The finishing time though outside the podium, bettered the previous African record in the event.
Nigeria was in strong contention for a podium finish heading into the final exchange, unfortunately, the team fell short when it mattered most.
Canada came first place in a world record time of 40.07s, Germany came in second in 40.15 seconds, and the Netherlands finished third in 40.20 seconds.
The Jamaican quartet of Ackeem Blake, Tina Clayton, Kadrian Goldson and Tia Clayon later broke the Canadian record in a time of 39.99s to become the first team to deep under 40s.
Despite finishing outside the top three, Nigeria’s fourth-place finish was sufficient to guarantee a spot at next year’s showpiece in China, and continental bragging right of African record holder.
The 4x400m teams were not that lucky and will have to fight another day hoping to pick qualification at a later date.
