Sports
Nigeria Claims Mixed Relay Gold At World U-20 Championships
Nigeria has won 4x400m mixed relay gold at World Athletics U-20 Championships.
“It was very tough because of the weather. This is just the beginning of great things in my career. My coach and I really worked hard on this, I’m so excited, it would only get better. Coming here to make so much impact makes me feel so happy. It means more hard work, but the future is so bright,” Uko said.
The women’s 200m was packed, with Tokyo 2020 Olympics silver medallist Christine Mboma and her Namibian teammate Beatrice Masilingi the clear favourites.
Favour Ofili, however, gave both women a fair contest, claiming the bronze medal with a national U-20 record of 22.23secs, behind Mboma’s championships record of 21.84secs for the gold medal and Masilingi’s PB of 22.18secs.
In other events of the day, Best Erhire was unlucky, missing out on the podium after finishing fourth in high jump (2.14m), while compatriot David Aya finished eighth with a jump of 2.10m.
Another Nigerian, Ekporere Oghenemine, finished last in the men’s 110m hurdles final.
Ezekiel Nathaniel qualified for the final of the men’s 400m hurdles as one of the fastest losers, after finishing third in Heat 1. The men’s 4x100m and 4x400m also qualified for the final.
It’s Nigeria’s best ever performance at the championships, with the 4×100m (men and women) and 4×400m (women) relay teams also in contention for medals on Sunday (yesterday), the final day of the event.
Vice president of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Chief Solomon Ogba, foremost Sports Marketer and founder of Okpekpe Road Race, Mike Itemuagbor and top Sports Journalist and Media Strategist, Mitchel Obi have lent their voices in support of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF).
The personalities with backgrounds in sports administration, marketing and media spoke separately in commendation of the festival, an initiative of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with Dunamis Icon as consultants.
“This is a positive addition to the evolving sports business ecosystem because it is not just a springboard for identifying talents, it also offers a platform to truly hone the skills of those already discovered”, remarked Obi, who served as Special Advisor to a former Sports Minister, late Anthony Ikhazabor.
He said the festival will be a flagship event in the region that would trigger interest in sports among the youths and people of the region.
Edo State-born Itemuagbor commended the NDDC for the decision to add sports in the list of their intervention projects in the region, adding that: “This speaks directly to the problem of youth restiveness which is of great concern to our people.”
Raphael Onyedika has now emerged as a major doubt for the Super Eagles’ must-win 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and Zimbabwe later this month.
The midfielder was forced out early from last week’s league game against Standard Liege.
He has not recovered from the injury and so will miss today’s league match against Gent and may also miss a UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash against Aston Villa yesterday.
The Super Eagles take on Rwanda in Kigali on March 21, before they face Zimbabwe in Uyo four days later in crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Al-Khalood defender, William Troost-Ekong, has shared his experience on the difficulties of winning the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) while describing it a must win trophy.
The former Watford FC defender has competed in the tournament three times but has yet to lift the trophy.
“I’ve been there three times now, bronze medal, silver medal, but I haven’t had the chance to win it. That remains my ultimate goal,” he told Tidesports source.
“It means so much to me and all the kids growing up in Africa and Nigeria.”
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