Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team has made history at the African Athletics Championships in Accra after breaking the championship record and successfully defending their title in a standout performance.
The quartet of Rosemary Nwankwo, Jennifer Chukwuka Obi, Rosemary Chukwuma and Miracle Ezechukwu stormed to victory in 42.94 seconds, becoming the first team in championship history to run under 43 seconds in the event.
Their record breaking performance secured gold ahead of Liberia, which took silver, while host nation Ghana settled for bronze. The run also matched the team’s season best and reinforced Nigeria’s dominance in women’s sprint relays on the continent.
In the men’s 4x100m relay, Nigeria also delivered a strong performance but had to settle for silver. The team of Favour Ashe, James Taiwo Emmanuel, Tejiri Godwin and Chidera Ezeakor recorded 38.70 seconds, narrowly edging Ghana for second place in a thrilling finish. However, they were beaten to gold by Ivory Coast, who produced a winning time of 38.52 seconds.
The championships, held at the University of Ghana Stadium from May 12 to 17, have further highlighted Nigeria’s strength in track events across both sprint and relay categories.
Nigeria’s success was not limited to relays. Ezeakor had earlier won bronze in the men’s 100m with a time of 10.32 seconds, while Rosemary Chukwuma narrowly missed out on individual gold in the women’s 100m after finishing in the same time as Cameroon’s Hervérge Kole Etame, who was awarded first place on countback.
World record holder Tobi Amusan once again demonstrated her dominance by winning gold in the women’s 100m hurdles in 12.83 seconds, leading a Nigerian clean sweep of the podium alongside Ashley Miller and Adaobi Tabugbo.
Nigeria also secured gold in the mixed 4x400m relay through Ezekiel Asuquo, Toheebat Jimoh, Victor Sampson and Patience Okon George, rounding off a successful championship campaign for the country.
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