By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
Team Nigeria delivered another impressive performance at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, United States, setting a new African U20 record in the mixed 4x100m relay while Jecinta Lawrence, Faith Ezechukwu and Precious Opinion progressed in their respective events.
The Nigerian quartet of Tejiri Godwin, Rosemary Nwankwo, Perfect Faye and Miracle Ezechukwu clocked 41.91 seconds to finish second in their heat and secure a place in the final. The time is a new Nigerian U20 record and the fastest ever recorded by an African U20 team in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Miracle Ezechukwu produced a remarkable anchor leg, recording a 10.05-second split as he surged past Germany and closed rapidly on the United States to seal Nigeria’s qualification for the final.
The performance has boosted Nigeria’s medal hopes as the team prepares to challenge for a podium finish in the event.
In the women’s 400m, Jecinta Lawrence and Faith Ezechukwu both advanced to the semifinals after strong displays in their heats. Lawrence clocked 53.97 seconds to finish in a dead heat for third place with Eni Kuske, while Faith Ezechukwu secured automatic qualification after placing third in her heat in 54.38 seconds.
Nigeria also celebrated success in the men’s triple jump, where Precious Opinion produced a personal best leap of 16.02 metres to surpass the automatic qualifying standard and book a place in the final as one of the top five qualifiers.
The latest achievements add to Team Nigeria’s growing success at the championships, coming after Jessica Oji topped the women’s shot put qualification with a throw of 17.56 metres to reach the final.
With multiple athletes now through to finals and semifinals, Team Nigeria heads into the next phase of the competition with increasing confidence and strong prospects of adding to its medal haul.
