Nigeria secures two more relay spots for World Athletics Championships
Nigeria has secured two additional relay spots for the World Athletics Championships scheduled for 2027 in Beijing, following strong performances at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Nigerian team clinched qualification in the women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x400m events during Sunday’s repechage rounds, bouncing back from a challenging start to the competition. This adds to the country’s earlier qualification in the mixed 4x100m event achieved on Saturday.
In the mixed 4x400m repechage, the quartet of Chidi Okezie, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Taiwo Mary Kudoro, and Patience Okon George delivered an impressive run, clocking a season’s best time of 3:12.88. Their second-place finish in heat two secured one of the available qualification slots, alongside South Africa.
The women’s 4x100m team also responded strongly after earlier setbacks, finishing second behind France with a time of 42.94 seconds to book their place at the global championships.
Despite these successes, Nigeria’s overall outing at the relays was a mix of highs and lows. The country’s only appearance in a final—the mixed 4x100m—ended in a sixth-place finish, ahead of the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. However, that result was enough to secure qualification for the inaugural World Ultimate Championships, reserved for the top six teams in the event.
