4) Chidi Okezie vs Orukpe Erayokan & Nathaniel Samson
We all love the 400m! Over the years, Nigeria has produced good 400m runners, equaling throwing up duels in the process.
For the past decade, the men’s 400m in Nigeria hasn’t really kept up the tradition of the past, reminiscent of what the likes of Innocent Egbunike did in the 80s, and late Sunday Bada in the 90s.
However, hope was reignited last year at the National Championships seeing the trio of Chidi Okezie, Orukpe Erayokan and Nathaniel Samson. There is no doubt these three are major contenders for Nigeria’s next quarter-mile king.
Since 2012, Orukpe has been the best, not until last year when he was beaten by a younger Samson at the Golden League finale in Akure. A very close contest that saw Samson dipping in at 46.37s, and Orukpe 2nd at 46.40s. It might not have been the quickest of times, but it was forming the bedrock for what was to come.
Then at the Nationals, all pointers were to an Orukpe vs Samson clash, and they set up a good final to envisage, winning their heats comfortably. However, there was a new kid on the block, an unheralded Okezie who came from lane 8 to win the title in 46.15s.
Samson finished 2nd with a time of 46.20s, as Orukpe was 5th in 46.58s. So, Okezie succeeded in crashing the party, giving others an additional competitor to worry about.
While Okezie skipped the African Games in Congo Brazzaville, both Orukpe and Samson participated. With Orukpe now feeling the pressure, it could be the motivating factor that propelled him to churning out two PBs in two days, running below 46s for the first time ever.
Orukpe finished 2nd in round one clocking 45.84s, but ran a lifetime’s best of 44.95s in the semis. Samson equally ran a PB in his semifinal with a time of 45.80s. Okezie must have taken notice of their feats in Brazzaville; gearing up for what will be an interesting year for all three athletes.
Who knows, with Orukpe running very well, Samson challenging him and Okezie coming out from the blues to provide the surprises, they could get closer to matching Egbunike’s long standing 44.17s NR one day.
