AFN sure of relay tickets, as Ghana, Benin battle at Deji Tibubu Lagos Series

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has expressed confidence that Team Nigeria will secure the three remaining relay tickets to Budapest 2023 World Championships at the Lagos Series, which holds today.

Team Nigeria is still searching for qualification marks in three relay events:
✓ The men’s 4x100m
✓ The men’s 4x400m
✓ The women’s 4x400m

The teams narrowly miss the mark at the African Region 2 Relay events held in Lome, Togo, last weekend.

Nigeria and two West African countries, Benin Republic and Ghana, will today battle for qualification marks at the Lagos Series event, which will hold at Yaba College of Technology.

AFN Technical Director, Samuel Onikeku, said on Thursday that the athletes are in high spirit, just as he revealed that the Ghanaians, who arrived in the early hours of Thursday, are equally eager to use the event to secure their passage to Budapest.

“Our athletes are ready for the Deji Tinubu-Lagos Series and I am optimistic we will get the qualification marks this time. The Ghanaians are in the same hotel with us, and they want to use the Lagos Series to secure their passage to Budapest. Benin Republic are on their way to Lagos,” Onikeku stated. Team Nigeria has already secured the women’s 4x100m and mixed relay tickets.

In the Nigerian squad camp for the relays are Godson Brume, who joined the team on Tuesday morning from the United States, new sprint king, Usheoritse Itsekiri, Seye Ogunlewe, Alaba Akintola and Favor Ashe.

U.S.-based speedstar, Udodi Onwuzurike, has since returned to his base after the African Region 2 event in Lome, Togo.

The women’s squad has Ella Onojuwvewo, Patience Okon-George and Imaobomg Nse Uko. Tima Godbless has also returned to her base in the United States after she sustained a minor injury during the national trials in Benin City, Edo State.

The Deji Tinubu-Lagos Athletics Club Series is an initiative of the Lagos State Athletics Association (LSAA) with the aim of reviving health competitions among the athletes across the country, as 27 clubs and three schools will be aiming to share from the grand prize.

According to the technical director of LSAA, Enefiok Udo-Obong, the one-day meet promises to be exciting as the relay events – 4X100m and 4x400m will be the main highlight as teams are jostling for tickets with the required qualifying time.

“I can confirm to you that after the success of three legs in February, April and June, we are set for the grand finale, which also provides opportunity for teams to secure the qualifying time for the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. We will have teams from Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and Nigeria. Some of our best athletes in sprint and relays will also be present to compete. I look forward to new records and excellent performance from the athletes,” Udo-Obong said.

For the chairman of LSAA, Solomon Alao, the staging of the tournament is aimed at restoring the glorious era of athletics.

“The Lagos Athletics Association is always on the lookout for innovative ideas to catalyse development and support growth. We identified that in all of the years of athletics sport or sports in general; the one singular component of the community of systems that has remained constant over the years is the ‘Athletics Club’.

“The club system has been able to sustain athletics activity homogeneously in Nigeria with little or no support from government as such, we decided to leverage on this fascinating phenomenon to encourage further growth and see how to maximise its potential.

“The club series is just the first expression of our strategic intent, a show of goodwill and our willingness to partner with the clubs to do great things,” Alao added. Alao disclosed that there were plans to enrol the discovered athletes in a mentoring programme to be anchored by former Olympics medallist, Udo-Obong, who is also the technical director of LSAA.