Okowa confident of World Champs relay tickets News

President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, remains upbeat that the Nigerian relay teams can still qualify for the World Championships, which will be held from September 13 to 21 in Tokyo, Japan, The PUNCH reports.

Since missing out on the chance to qualify via the World Relays, which was held in China in May over visa issues, the AFN made their first attempt to pick the ticket on Sunday during the national trials in Lagos, but the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams fell behind the required qualification time.

The men’s 4x400m Team A, comprising Samuel Ogazi, Ezekiel Nathaniel, Gafar Badmus and Chidi Okezie, clocked 3:03.68 to win the race by over 30 metres but fell short of the 2:59.12 qualifying mark currently held by Zambia.

In the men’s 4x100m, Team Nigeria A crossed the finish line in 40.05s, also well outside the qualification threshold.

The disappointing outcomes in Lagos mean that none of Nigeria’s relay teams, men’s 4x100m, men’s 4x400m, women’s 4x100m, women’s 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m, are currently within the automatic qualifying range for the World Championships.

Despite the disappointment, Okowa remains upbeat that they can still qualify before the window elapses on August 24.

“A lot of our foreign athletes have qualified, and some are still trying to, and the window is still open till the end of August. There are other windows like the CAA Region II from August 17,” Okowa said.

“Now, what we have to do is for our athletes to beat the time. A lot of our sprinters are poised to beat the time, and they want to go out there and qualify.”

“In the 4x400m, we have quarter milers that are ready and they want to do us proud. Nobody knows what is going to happen, but the athletes are in high spirits to bring Nigeria back into contention for the relays.”

The team is on course to compete at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana from August 15 to 16, and the Ghanaian Championships from August 21 to 22.