Nigeria’s quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph competing in the mixed 4x400m event of the ongoing World Relays in the Bahamas have qualified for the Paris Olympics holding later this year.
The time ran a time of 3:13.79 in Heat 2 to finish second behind the United States of America to book one of the two automatic qualification spots.
Both Nigeria and the US were a distance ahead of other in the heat and it was obvious as at the third leg that the race was between the two countries.
Chidi Okezie ran an impressive third leg in 44.78 to handover his baton first, but a very experienced Olympics gold-medallist, Kendall Ellis was too much for Esther Elo Joseph in the anchor leg as she led the United States to the finish line first.
Mixed 4x400m Qualifies for Paris!#WorldRelays pic.twitter.com/Ph1kU1eYsb
— Deji Ogeyingbo (@deji_oges) May 4, 2024
Similarly, Team Nigeria qualified in the 4X400m men’s event as they finished in the second automatic qualification spot with a season’s best 3:01.70 in Heat 2 behind Belgium (3:00.09).
While the mixed relay team and 4X400m men celebrated success, the story was different for Nigeria’s other relay teams. They fell short of automatic Olympic qualification in both the men’s and women’s 4x100m and the women’s 4x400m events.
In the women’s 4x100m, the Nigerian quartet of Justina Eyakpobeyan, Favour Ofili, Olayinka Olajide, and Tima Godbless narrowly missed out on an automatic ticket, finishing third in their heat with a time of 43.15s.
The USA dominated the race with a time of 42.21s, while France’s Mallory Leconte edged out Godbless for second place in 43.09s.
The men’s 4x100m team, consisting of Udodi Onwuzuruike, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola, and Seye Ogunlewe, finished fourth in their heat with a time of 38.47s.
Unfortunately, due to visa issues and last-minute injuries, Team Nigeria was unable to compete in heat 4 of the women’s 4x400m.
Qualification guidelines
At the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, the top 14 teams in each relay event automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Teams have two chances to secure their spot: one on the first day and another on the second day of the competition.
The remaining two slots in each relay discipline will be awarded based on the top rankings during the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).
