The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) confirmed that the nation will discipline groups in 4 of the six relay classes on the occasion
Nigeria has unveiled a formidable squad for the 2025 World Athletics Relays scheduled to happen in Guangzhou, China, because the nation intensifies preparations to safe early qualification spots for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) confirmed that the nation will discipline groups in 4 of the six relay classes on the occasion: the boys’s 4x100m, ladies’s 4x100m, combined 4x100m, and combined 4x400m.
Heading into the competitors with a mix of seasoned stars and rising skills, the Nigerian squad boasts among the nation’s most recognised names in world athletics.
Amongst them are the world document holder within the 100m hurdles, Tobi Amusan, American collegiate dash sensation Favour Ashe, and former U-20 World Champion Udodi Onwuzurike.
Amusan and Favour Ofili are additionally anticipated to supply important expertise and management within the ladies’s and combined 4x100m relays.
The lads’s 4x100m group will characteristic Alaba Akintola, Karlington Anunagba, Olaoye Folawiyo, Usheoritse Itsekiri, and the duo of Ashe and Onwuzurike, whose pace and baton change has been spectacular.
Photograph: Amusan
The ladies’s squad consists of Amusan, Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Justina Eyakpobeyan, Obi Jennifer Chukwuka, and Success Umukoro–names which have proven an excessive amount of consistency in each native and worldwide meets.
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Within the combined 4x100m, Nigeria will once more mix the explosive tempo of Akintola, Ashe, Ofili, and Chukwuma with the dynamic contributions of Onwuzurike and Umukoro.
The combined 4x400m group sees the return of 400m veterans Chidi Okezie and Ifeanyi Ojeli alongside Samson Nathaniel, Reward Idamadudu, Endurance Okon-George, and Omolara Ogunmakinju, all of whom have represented Nigeria on the largest phases.
Nigeria’s latest performances in worldwide relay occasions lend optimism to their Guangzhou mission.
On the 2024 World Athletics Relays within the Bahamas, Nigeria’s combined 4x400m relay group broke the African File with a Nationwide File time of three:12.87, securing a 4th-place end within the closing.
Additionally they certified for the Paris 2024 Olympics on this occasion. Moreover, three different Nigerian relay groups additionally secured Olympic berths: the boys’s 4x400m, ladies’s 4x100m, and males’s 4x100m.
The AFN has emphasised that the 2025 World Relays aren’t simply one other competitors however a strategic step towards securing early qualification for the World Championships in Tokyo.
The World Relays, organised biennially by World Athletics, function a worldwide stage the place nationwide relay groups compete for automated entry into main championships.
This occasion is an important alternative to reset the narrative for Nigeria, which has a wealthy sprinting historical past however has struggled with consistency and depth lately.
