The quartet of Ella Onojuvwevwo, Patience Okon-George, Esther Elo Joseph and Omolara Ogunmankinju reclaimed their title from South Africa in the women’s 4x400m on the final day of the African Athletics Championships in Douala, Cameroon.
Onojuvwevwo got underway with a blazing run where she got the baton safely to Okon-George in first place who capitalized on the lead despite the late charge of Qincy Malekani of Zambia in the home straight.
National Champion Joseph was ready for the task as she further distanced herself from her counterparts, leaving Ogunmankinju to race against the clock and stop the tape at 3:27.31s, earning Team Nigeria the victory.
Zambia and Kenya finished 2nd and 3rd respectively
Despite the victory, the team would not be going to the Olympics after failing to run faster than Cuba’s 3:26.08 in 16th place on the World Relays ranking.
The men’s side saw the quartet of Emmanuel Ojeli, Sikiru Adeyemi, Dubem Nwachukwu and Samuel Ogazi finish 4th in the 4x400m in a close finish behind Botswana (3:02.23), Zambia (3:02.34) and Kenya (3:02.56) with a time of 3:02.93.
