Team Nigeria is ready to rub shoulders with their counterparts from around the world as the 2015 IAAF World Championships get underway in Beijing this weekend. And if Moscow 2013 is anything to go by, the country’s medal hopes will rest on the shoulders of Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor once more, even as one or two athletes in the squad are expected to spring surprises in China.
Okagbare-Ighoteguonor has undoubtedly been Nigeria’s most consistent athlete since her Bronze medal winning exploits at the Olympic Games in Beijing. In 2013 she won Nigeria’s first World Championship medal of any colour since 1999 when Francis Obikwelu won a 200m Bronze and Alozie won Silver in the 100m hurdles. Her two individual medals (Silver in the Long Jump and Bronze in the 200m) in Moscow make her the first Nigerian to win two individual medals in the history of the Championships.
Beijing 2015 will be Okagbare’s third outing at the World Championships and going by her current form in the 100m, the Commonwealth Champion looks good to add another medal to her collection; she may even go one step higher by becoming Africa’s first 100m World Champion! The Nigerian is ranked No. 3 on the 2015 IAAF world list with her Season’s Best (SB) of 10.80s. She follows defending champion and World Leader, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.74s) and training partner, English Gardner (10.79s), who finished 4th in Moscow two years ago.
Winning a medal in the 100m would be a dream come true for the African Record holder who could be unstoppable, provided she has an ideal start, and then combines it with a powerful finish. The Beijing 2008 medallist already has a World Championships medal in the 200m, but will still stand a good chance in the event, following the withdrawal of defending champion Fraser-Pryce, and World Leader Allyson Felix, who will be concentrating on the 400m.
However, she faces the herculean task of out-sprinting USA champion, Candyce McGrone who is No.2 in the world this year (22.08s), European double GOLD medallist, Dafne Schippers (No. 3, 22.09s) and Jamaica’s emerging sensation, Elaine Thompson (No. 4, 22.10s). The sprinter is optimistic about her chances in Beijing and took to her Facebook page to say this: “There is no greater feeling than waking up and knowing that God has a perfect time for every blessing, success, victory and upliftment coming your way. No doubt in my heart that my time is now.”
Okagbare-Ighoteguonor will run in the heats of the 100m on Day 2 (Sunday) which takes off from 5.00am. The semifinal and final come up on Monday at 12.40pm and 2.35pm respectively. The heats of the women’s 200m will take place on Wednesday at 12.15pm, with the semis slated to hold on Thursday (12.35pm). The final will take place on Friday by 2.00pm.
Team Nigeria athletes are also going to compete in the following events:
Men’s 200m
Tega Odele created one of the biggest upsets at the 2015 National Trials when he defeated former national champions in the event. His winning time of 20.47s was enough to qualify him for the World Championships, making him Nigeria’s sole flag bearer in the event.
Obikwelu is Nigeria’s best performer in the 200m, running an astonishing NR of 19.84s in the semi-finals before going on to win Bronze at the 1999 Championships in Spain. Odele will be going against some of the biggest names in the sport on Tuesday as he competes in the heats at 12.30pm. The semis have been slated to hold on Wednesday (1.30pm), while the final comes up on Thursday by 1.55pm.
Women’s 400m
Patience Okon George and Regina George will be Nigeria’s representatives in women’s one lap event. Okon George is the reigning National Champion and Africa’s fastest woman in the event this year, running a PB of 50.76s to win at the Resisprint meeting in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Her time is the fastest by any Nigerian female 400m runner since Falilat Ogunkoya ran 50.50s at the World Championships in 2001.
While Okon George will be making her first individual appearance in Beijing, Regina George will be participating in the 400m for the second time. The former National Champion is faced with the herculean task of trying to make it past the preliminary rounds, and will hope to go further than her semi-final debut outing in Moscow where she ran a PB of 50.84s. She currently has an SB of 51.30s.
Both athletes will take off with the heats on Day 3 of the competition (Monday) at about 3.25am. The semis come up on Tuesday at 12.00pm, with the final taking place on Thursday at 1.40pm.
Men’s 400m Hurdles
Miles Ukaoma will be making his debut at the World Championships and his recent feat at the National Trials in Warri may have gotten his global competitors to see him as a threat. The 2014 NCAA Champion raced his way to his first National Title in an outstanding way, setting a new PB/CR of 48.84s, with the NR holder, Henry Amike conceding that his NR of 48.50s might be under threat in Beijing. Ukaoma is the third fastest Nigerian ever after Amike (48.50s) and Amaechi Morton (48.79s).
Amike’s 6th place finish in Rome 1987 is Nigeria’s best outing in the event in the history of the championships. Ukaoma commences action on Saturday, Day 1 of Championship where he will be running in the heats at about 6.51pm. He will run in Lane 9 of Heat 3 alongside the likes of Commonwealth champion, Cornel Fredericks and European GOLD medallist, Kariem Hussein. The semi-finals hold on Day 2 (Sunday) at 11.40am while the final will take place on Tuesday by 1.25pm.
Women’s 400m Hurdles
Amaka Ogoegbunam is Nigeria’s sole representative in this event, taking over from NR holder, Ajoke Odumosu who was in Moscow two years ago. Ogoegbunam comes to the championship with an SB of 55.77s set at La Chaux-de-Fonds in July. The mark places her on the 34th spot in the world this year.
It will be great to see the African Championships Silver medallist going against the likes of defending champion, Zuzana Hejnova and Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer. She will be running in the heats on Day 2 (Sunday) at about 3.25am, with the semis holding the following day (Monday) by 12.10pm. The final comes up on Wednesday at 1.10pm.
Women’s High Jump
Doreen Amata in another athlete to watch out for is the women’s High Jump. This will be the third outing at the worlds for the All-Africa Games two-time champion who sits at No. 13 on the 2015 world list. She became the first Nigerian woman to compete in the High Jump at the World Championships in Berlin 2009, but didn’t make it past the qualifying rounds.
She improved in Moscow four years later, sailing through to the final where she finished 8th with a height of 1.93m. The jumper made her best jump in four years this season at the IAAF World Challenge Meeting in Senegal, where she cleared 1.94m to win the event. The Nigerian record holder will compete in the qualifying rounds of her event on Thursday by 2.35am. The final has been scheduled to hold on Saturday at 11.30am.
Men’s Triple Jump
Tosin Oke will be participating for the third time at the World Championships and will target a position in the finals this time around. He did not go beyond the qualifying stage in Berlin 2009, and was faced with the same hurdle in Daegu two years later. The Nigerian left his qualification for the worlds till the dying minute, winning the National Trials with an SB of 16.98m. He says his target in Beijing is Ajayi Agbebaku’s NR of 17.26m, which is 3cm further than Oke’s lifetime best.
Oke has big shoes to fill, considering that Nigeria’s very first World Championships medal was won by Agbebaku in the very first edition of the competition in 1983. Oke will commence his third World Championships action on Wednesday when he competes in the qualifiers at about 3.00am. The final will hold the following day (Thursday) at 12.10pm.
Heptathlon
Uhunoma Osazuwa is the NR holder in this event. The National Champion just made a comeback after two years off, with her last major championships being the London 2012 Olympic Games. She broke her former NR of 6049 set in 2012, with a new lifetime best of 6106 set at the Nigerian Trials in Warri. The Pharmacist who is No. 31 in the 2015 rankings, will hope to surpass her PB/SB when she makes her debut against the likes of World Leader, Brianne Theisen Eaton (6808) and Olympic champion, Jessica Ennis-Hill (6520).
Osazuwa begins her campaign on Saturday, Day 1 of the competition where she will compete in the 100m Hurdles (2.00am), High Jump (3.20am), Shot put (11.30am) and 200m (1.15pm). She will complete her event on Day 2, Sunday, with the Long Jump (2.00am), Javelin Throw (3.50am) and the 800m at 12.40pm.
100m Hurdles
Fresh from winning her first national title, Lindsay Wenyime will be hoping to make her debut at the Beijing World Championships a memorable one, considering that she broke 13s for the first time in her career earlier this year. The African Championships finalist has an SB of 12.97s and is 47th in the world this year. She will compete in the heats on Thursday at about 4.15am. The semifinal and final will take place the following day by 12.25pm and 2.35pm respectively.
Women’s 4x100m
Reigning 100m National Champion Gloria Asumnu (11.42s), Stephanie Kalu (11.37s), Deborah Odeyemi (11.66s), Cecilia Francis (11.69s) and Okagbare-Ighoteguonor will be aiming for a podium finish in this event. Nigeria is the reigning African champion in the event and Silver medallist at the last Commonwealth Games.
The team finished 6th in Berlin and Daegu respectively, but was disqualified in the heats in Moscow. They will be hoping for a better outing in Beijing. The heats of the women’s 4x100m relay will hold on Day 8 of the competition (Saturday) at about 5.00am. The final will hold later that day at 1.50pm.
Women’s 4x400m
The trio of Margaret Etim, (SB, 52.64s), Tosin Adeloye (51.92s) and Rita Ossai (52.51s) will join Okon George and George, to give the country a glimpse of hope in this event. The women’s 4x400m has been the country’s most consistent team, winning medals last year at the World Relays, Commonwealth Games and African Championships.
They have gotten to the final in the last three editions of the World Championships but are yet to make it to the podium. The team will go against some of the best countries in the world on Saturday at 3.15am. The final will be one of the last events of the championship, and will hold at 1.05pm, after which the men’s event will bring down the curtains in Beijing.
Can these athletes match or exceed our best haul of 1 Silver and 1 Bronze set at a single World Championships outing (Sevilla 1999 and Moscow 2013)? We are keeping our fingers crossed.
