African Games 400m champion, Chidi Okezie stars as Nigeria picked two automatic slots to the Paris Olympics at the World Relays in The Bahamas.
Team Nigeria qualified for the Olympics in the Mixed 4x400m, punching an automatic ticket at the World Relays, finishing 2nd in their heat in 3:13.79.
The quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph brought the baton home to earn Nigeria an automatic place at the Olympics, finishing 2nd behind Team USA who won in a Championship Record of 3:11.52.
Nigeria men’s 4x400m team is back in the Olympics for the first time since Athens 2004 when they won Bronze.
The Nigerian men’s 4x400m team has punched their Olympic ticket to Paris 2024, landing an automatic qualification after posting a Season’s Best of 3:01.74 to finish 2nd in their heat.
Chidi Okezie ran a monstrous anchor leg, splitting 44.46s, the fastest in the field to bring home the baton in 2nd place for Nigeria. The Nigerian team of Dubem Nwachukwu, Dubem Amene, Adewale Sikiru, and Okezie combined to pick qualification.
Meanwhile, Belgium got the other automatic spot, winning the race in 3:00.09.
Furthermore, The Nigerian quartet of Udodi Onwuzuruike, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola, and Seye Ogunlewe posted a time of 38.47s to finish 4th in their 4x100m heat at the World Relays in Bahamas. There’s still a chance for Nigeria on Sunday to book an automatic ticket, as they will now be running in round 2, looking to finish in the top 2 places in heat 2 to go through
Nigeria’s Women’s 4x400m did not start at the World Relays Olympic Qualification Round 1. They had six in the pool. Patience and Esther Okon are still in Nigeria. Omolara is injured, leaving the team with only three athletes.