The 16th edition of the IAAF World Championships begin on Friday, August 4 in London, with Nigeria sending a team of 17 athletes to compete in nine events.
Blessing Okagbare, the nation’s most successful athlete in the history of the championships with two individual medals and three 100m final appearances will spearhead the charge for honours at the flagship event of the IAAF.
Here, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Media Office gives a day-by-day guide to Team Nigeria events at the London Stadium.
Day 1 – Friday August 4
No Nigerian will be in action on the opening day of the championships but of interest to Nigerians is the fact that Usain Bolt will begin the final countdown to his retirement in the men’s 100m from 8.20pm at the London stadium where he won his second 100m Olympic gold in 2012.
Day 2 – Saturday August 5
Shot Putter Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will begin his chase for a podium appearance on the morning of the second day of the championships. It will be the first time he will be dorning the green and white colours of Nigeria and will be a hoping a repeat of his 21.07m Season’s Best (SB) will guarantee him a place in the final, which will make him the first Nigerian to qualify for the final of the event.
Another debutant, Nathaniel Samson will take his turn, this time in the men’s 400m as he hopes to make a memorable debut at Athletics’ biggest stage.
Okagbare will then take the stage a few minutes before noon in the women’s 100m heats as she hopes to make it four consecutive appearances in the final of the blue ribband event.
The evening session of Day 2 will focus more on Bolt who should be running in the 100m final at 9.45pm.
Day 3 – Sunday August 6
The quartermile trio of Yinka Ajayi, Margaret Bamgbose and Patience Okon-George will open Day 3 of Track and Field action for Nigeria. While Ajayi and Bamgbose will be making their debut in the championships, Okon-George will strive to make it at least a back-to-back semi-final appearance in the event. She raced all the way to the semi-final two years ago in Beijing at the 15th edition of the championships.
Okagbare is expected to return for the semi-final and final of the 100m final in the evening of Day 3 while the duo of Nathaniel and Enekwechi may also return for the 400m semi-final and Shot Put final. Between Okagbare and Enekwechi, Nigeria will likely make her first podium appearance at the championships.
For the two, history beckons. While the former will be hoping to become the first Nigerian, man or woman to win a blue ribband medal, the latter will hope to join the likes of Ajayi Agbebaku (Triple Jump in 1983) and Glory Alozie (100m Hurdles in 1999) as debutants who made it to the podium.
Day 4 – Monday August 7
Glory Onome Nathaniel will have her moment at the championships when she files out with other top class quatermile barrier runners in the evening of the fourth day of action in London.
One or all three of the quartermile trio of Yinka Ajayi, Margaret Bamgbose and Patience Okon-George are likely to return for the semi-final of the women’s 400m thereafter.
Day 5 – Tuesday August 8
The status of the two Nathaniels, Samson and Glory in the previous rounds will determine if Nigeria’s name will be mentioned on Day 5 of action at the championships. While Glory may be in action in the 400m hurdles semis, her brother Samson may become the third Nigerian man after Innocent Egbunike (1987) and Sunday Bada (1993 and 1995) to run in the final of the full lap race.
Day 6 – Wednesday August 9
Ese Brume will begin her battle for a place in the long jump final while one or all of the trio of Yinka Ajayi, Margaret Bamgbose and Patience Okon-George will hope to join the likes of Fatimah Yusuf (1995) and Falilat Ogunkoya (1995,1997,1999 and 2001) as 400m finalists in the championships.
Okagbare will also be in action in the Long Jump where she will hope to make it two final appearances in three attempts in the championships.
Day 7 – Thursday August 10
Glory Onome Nathaniel’s status from the previous rounds will determine if Nigeria will have an athlete in action on Day 7 of the championships.
Day 8 – Friday August 11
Tobiloba Amusan and Lindsay Lindley will attempt to return Nigeria to the podium in this event 18 years after Glory Alozie won a Silver medal in the event at the 8th edition of the championships in Seville, Spain. For Amusan, it will be her first bow in the event at the IAAF flagship event while Lindley will be hoping she runs faster than the 13.30s she ran in Beijing two years ago if she hopes to make it to her first semis in the event.
The evening session will depend on how the two sprint hurdlers fare in the first round as the semi-final is scheduled to hold from 7.05pm, while how far the duo of Brume and Okagbare leapt in the qualifying round will determine who jumps in the final which is scheduled to start at 7.10pm.
Day 9 – Saturday August 12
The relays will take the centre stage on the penultimate day of the championships with Nigeria presenting two teams viz the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams. The day may also belong to either Amusan or Lindley or both in the 100m Hurdles final as they aspire to become the second woman to mount the podium after Glory Alozie in 1999 in Seville, Spain.
Day 10 – Sunday August 13
The final day of action! Will it be a day of reckoning or Team Nigeria or an icing on the cake? Nigeria may have only one team in action on this final day – the women’s 4x400m team.
