3) Patience Okon George:
She has to be one of the most improved Nigerian athletes this year. Okon-George ran two PBs this year and went on to become the National 400m champion, taking over from Folashade Abugan. In July she ran a PB of 50.76s at La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland, running the fastest time since Nigeria’s record holder, Falilat Ogunkoya’s 50.50s at the 2001 World Championships.
A commonwealth Silver medallist, Okon George narrowly missed qualifying as the fastest loser for the final of the 400m at the Worlds in Beijing, as one of the qualifiers whom she ran faster than finished 2nd in her semifinal heat, while the Nigerian finished 4th in her own race where she matched her PB. She helped team Nigeria win their heat in the 4x400m relay, running a Season’s Best (SB) of 3:23.27, and with the team not having the luxury of alternating athletes, finished 5th in the final in 3:25.11.
Okon George had something to cheer for this year, finishing 2nd at the African Games behind Zambia’s Kabange Mupopo who clinched GOLD in 50.22s, with the Nigerian settling for Silver having notched up another PB of 50.71s. However, she eventually got the GOLD she craved for, anchoring the 4x400m team to victory in a time of 3:27.12.
She was not in our rankings last year, but has shot herself into reckoning in 2015, becoming Nigeria’s best female quarter-miler at the moment.
