The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has listed 53 athletes for the 22nd African Athletics Championships scheduled to hold between June 8 and 12, 2022, in Mauritius.
The team will be led by four reigning African champions: Tobiloba Amusan (100m hurdles), Ese Brume (Long Jump), Chioma Onyekwere (Discus Throw) and Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (Shot Put).
Amusan will be competing in two individual events and the 4x100m relay. She has been listed to compete in the women’s 100m alongside Godbless Tima Seikeseye and Praise Ofoku as well as in the 100m Hurdles where she will be defending the title she first won in Asaba four years ago at the 21st edition of the Championships.
Long jumper Ese Brume will be gunning for her fourth straight long jump title after winning in 2014, 2016 and 2018 while Onyekwere will be seeking her second Discus title after winning the gold medal four years ago in Asaba.
Shot Putter, Enekwechi will also be defending the event’s title he won in Asaba with a new 21.08m Championships Record.
Also on the list are Orobosa Anabel Frank who is the top ranked African so far this year in the women’s Shot Put with her 17.21m effort at the AFN All Comers competition in Benin in March, Oyesade Olatoye in the women’s Hammer throw, Fadekemi Olude in the women’s 10km walk as well as Patience Okon George, bronze medal winner in the 400m event in 2014.
For the men, reigning African Games 100 champion, Raymond Ekevwo will lead Seye Ogunlewe and Nicholas Mabilo as Nigeria will be seeking to return to the podium as champions 12 long years after Olusoji Fasuba was crowned the African speed king for the third straight time.
AFN Technical Director, Samuel Onikeku says the athletes have been carefully selected based on their performances in both the local and international athletics circuit.
“Some of our student athletes in the United States of America like Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, Imaobong Nse Uko, Favour Ashe, Udodi Onwuzurike, Nathaniel Ezekiel, Alaba Akintola and Nnamdi Prosper have qualified for the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships scheduled to hold in Eugene, Oregon, USA between June 8 and 11, 2022 and will thus not be available for the African Athletics Championships hence the decision to pick the bulk of the team from athletes based at home”, said Onikeku who assured the athletes selected will still do the nation proud in Mauritius.
Nigeria won a total of 20 medals made up of nine gold, five silver and six bronze medals to finish third in the medal table behind Kenya and South Africa at the 21st edition held in Asaba, Delta.
The country however tops the all-time medal table with a total of 368 medals made up of 155 gold, 122 silver and 91 bronze medals.
WOMEN
100M
GODBLESS TIMA SEIKESEYE
PRAISE OFOKU
TOBI AMUSAN
200M
PRAISE IDAMADUDU
GODBLESS TIMA SEIKESEYE
400M
PATIENCE OKON
PRAISE IDAMADUDU
OPEYEMI OKE
100M HURDLES
TOBI AMUSAN
MIRACLE THOMPSON
JOY ABU
400M HURDLES
ABASIANO AKPAN
SARAH OCHIGBO
HEPTATHLON
KEMI FRANCIS
10KM RACEWALK
FADEKEMI OLUDE
DISCUS
CHOIMA ONYEKWERE
OBIAGERI AMECHI
PRINCESS KARA
SHOT PUT
ANABEL OROBOSA
SADE OLATOYE
HAMMER
SADE OLATOYE
QUEEN OBISESAN
HIGH JUMP
TEMITOPE ADESINA
TRIPPLE JUMP
MERCY HONESTY
ONARA OBAMUWAGUN
LONG JUMP
ESE BRUME
RUTH AGADAMA
4X100M
GODBLESS TIMA SEIKESEYE
TOBI AMUSAN
PRAISE OFOKU
ESE BRUME
RUTH AGADAMA
YAKUBU BILIKIS
JOY ABU
4X400M
PATIENCE OKON
ELLA ONOJUVWEWO
OPEYEMI DEBORAH OKE
PRAISE IDAMADUDU
OSUNOBUN QUEEN
OSARETIN JOY USUNBOR
JOY ABU
MEN
………
100M
SEYE OGUNLEWE
RAYMOND EKEWVWO
NICHOLAS MABILO
200M
FAKOREDE NICHOLAS ADEKALU
CHIDI OKEZIE
400M
SAMSON NATHANIEL
ADEYEMI SIKIRU
CHIDERA JOHNSON
110M HURDLES
PROSPER EKPORERE
ABEJOYE OYENIYI
ALEX AL-AMEEN
400M HURDLES
RILWAN ALOWONLE
DECATHLON
OSADOLOR SAMUEL
DISCUS
UGEOKE VICENT
JAVELIN
ADAMS KURE SAMUEL
SHOT PUT
CHUKWUEBUKA ENEKWECHI
DOTUN OGUNDEJI
LONG JUMP
TOBECHUKWU EMMANUEL
NWOKPCHA INEH EMMANUEL ORITSEMEYIWA
TRIPPLE JUMP
KALU CHIDOZIE IKENGA
HIGH JUMP
DAVID AYA
4X100M
SEYE OGUNLEWE
RAYMOND EKWEVWO
OGHENE OGHO EGWERO
FAKOREDE NICHOLAS ADEKALU
MABILO NICHOLAS
KARLINGTON ANUNAGBA
4X400M
SAMSON NATHANIEL
ADEWALE SIKIRU
NNAMANI JOHNSON
CHIDERA AYO
TORISEJU ADEOLA
IFEANYI EMMANUEL OJELI
CHIDI OKEZIE
4X400M MIXED RELAY
NATHIEL SAMSON
IFEANYI OJELI
SIKIRU ADEYEMI
PATIENCE OKON
OPEYEMI OKE
IDAMADUDU PRAISE
