Team Nigeria’s U-20 track and field athletes have re-written the history of Nigeria’s participation at the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 championships after finishing third on the medals table with an unprecedented haul of four gold and three bronze medals.
The highest Nigeria has ended on the medals table prior to the just-ended event in Nigeria was her seventh-place finish at the third edition of the championships in 1990 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria where they won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
The four gold medals won at the just ended championships in Nairobi, Kenya is the highest Nigeria has won, two more than the country has ever won in any edition of the championships.
Nigeria’s 4×400 meters mixed relay team (Chidera Johnson Nnamani, Deborah Oke, Imaobong Nse-Uko, Bamdiele Ajayi) which won gold in the mixed 4×400 meters with a time of 3:19.70 began the unprecedented haul with its historic, championships record-setting performance (3:19.70 CR) on the opening day of the 2021 World Athletics Under-20 championships.
Reigning the fastest Under-17 quarter-miler in the world, 17-year-old Imaobong Nse Uko added the second in the women’s 400 meters with a new 51.55 seconds personal best. The win made her the fourth Nigerian woman to win the event after Fatimah Yusuf (1990), Bisi Afolabi (1994) and Folashade Abugan (2008).
USA-based Udodi Onwuzurike gave Nigeria the third gold in the men’s 200 meters, also setting a new 20.21 seconds personal best in the process. The half-lap gold was Nigeria’s second since Francis Obikwelu won it in 1996 to successfully complete his sprint double down under in Sydney, Australia.
The women’s 4×400 meters relay team put the icing on the cake with their dominant display on their way to winning Nigeria’s second gold medal in the relay in the history of the championships. The quartet ran a new World Under-20 lead of 3:31.46 to crown a golden outing for Nigeria.
In addition to the four gold medals, the team also picked three bronze medals with one coming from an unfamiliar territory, the men’s javelin.
Chinacherem Nnamdi set a new 78.02 meters national Under-20 record in the qualifiers for the javelin but could not replicate the feat in the final, which could have given him the gold. The 19-year-old’s 74.48 meters throw landed him in the bronze medal position, a first-ever for Nigeria in the event.
Favour Ofili added the second bronze medal in the women’s 200 meters, also setting a new 22.23 seconds personal best and National Under-20 record before helping the women’s 4×100 meters team to a bronze medal finish in 43.90 seconds.
