Nigeria’s young athletes delivered an outstanding opening-day performance at the ongoing Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U18/U20 Region II Championships in Dakar, Senegal, winning eight gold and six silver medals.
A statement by Kola Oredipe, a board member of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) on Sunday disclosed that the country’s dominance was most evident on the track, as sprinters swept several titles across the U-18 and U-20 categories.
Oredipe said that in the U20 men’s 100m, Tejiri Godwin stormed to gold in 10.35 seconds, while Bright Gift claimed the U18 boys’ title after clocking 10.41 seconds.
“The female sprinters matched the men’s exploits as Lucy Nwankwo won the U20 women’s 100m gold in 11.41 seconds.
“Rosemary Chigozie added another gold in the U18 girls’ 100m with a winning time of 11.35 seconds, while Tejiri Ugoh secured the silver medal in the same event,” he said.
He said that Team Nigeria then continued its medal-winning run in the 400m races.
Oredipe also stated that Faith Ezechukwu captured gold in the U18 women’s event, while teammate Jecinter Lawrence finished second to complete a one-two finish.
“David Udoh also contributed to the tally by winning silver in the U18 men’s 400m.
“In the middle-distance event, Gang James Boyi from Plateau emerged victorious in the U20 men’s 1500m to claim another gold medal for Team Nigeria.
“The field events also produced impressive performances. Success Okeleke struck gold in the U20 men’s discus with a throw of 47.10m.
“Emmanuel Shakamomodu Audu secured silver with 47.00m to complete a Nigerian one-two finish.
“Audu later returned to win gold in the shot put, while Okeleke took silver,” he said.
Oredipe added that Adaeze Ezeh rounded off the day’s podium finishes by earning silver in the U18 women’s long jump with a leap of 5.67m.
The statement quoted Tonobok Okowa, President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) and Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Region II, as expressing delight at the team’s impressive start, describing the performances as proof of the country’s bright future in athletics.
Okowa commended the athletes, coaches, and officials for their efforts and reaffirmed the federation’s commitment to grassroots talent development.
With the championships nearing its end, Team Nigeria will be aiming to build on its strong opening-day performance and add more medals to its tally.
