Team Nigeria made a strong start in the athletics competition at the African Games in Ghana.
All Nigerian athletes competing on Monday morning qualified for their respective events’ next stage.
In the women’s 100m heats, all three Nigerian runners advanced to the semi-finals.
Justina Eyakpobeyan led the pack at 11.43 seconds despite a slight headwind (-0.1 m/s).
Olajide Olayinka overcame a strong headwind (-2.4 m/s) to win her heat in 11.51 seconds, while Blessing Ogundiran secured the final qualifying spot in her heat with a time of 11.65 seconds (-2.3 m/s).
The men’s 100m heats were equally successful for Nigeria. Usheoritse Itsekiri ran a season-best time of 10.19 seconds (-1.0 m/s) to finish second in his heat.
Ekemini Ekanem overcame a slow start to surge past his competitors and win his heat in 10.44 seconds (-1.1 m/s).
Israel Okon Sunday finished second in his heat (10.55 seconds, -1.6 m/s) behind Benjamin Azamati of Ghana.
The semi-final races for the 100m are scheduled for Monday evening.
Following Nigeria’s dominant performances in wrestling and weightlifting at these Games, there’s high anticipation for a strong showing in track and field events, which kicked off on Monday on a bright note at the University of Legon.
While Team Nigeria hopes to see new champions emerge, several established athletes aim to defend their titles from the 2019 African Games in Rabat, Morocco.
These include Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume, Sade Olatoye, Chioma Onyekwere, and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi.
