As Athletics continues to grow in popularity and captivate the hearts of new fans in Nigeria, we take a closer look at the top female sprinters who made waves in 2024.
From rising stars to established champions, these athletes are pushing the boundaries of speed and setting standards for Nigerian sprinting on the global stage. Here is Part 1 of the series.
10. PRECIOUS NZEAKOR
Precious Nzeakor went from struggling to break 24 seconds in the 200m to becoming the 2024 National Champion—a remarkable leap. Yet, she didn’t start the season with much fanfare.
In fact, her year began slowly with races in Lagos and Abuja, where she was unable to dip below that barrier in the 200m. However, at the MTN Champs/AFN National Trials in Asaba a month after, she delivered three consecutive Personal Bests (PB) across the 200m rounds, clocking 23.51s to finish 2nd. This followed her earlier 4th-place finish in the 100m final.
As the season progressed, Nzeakor peaked in performance. She went on to win the women’s 200m at the MTN Champs Grand Finale in Calabar, returning another PB of 23.48s, after improving her 100m PB, having placed 2nd in 11.48s.
After she marginally improved her 100m PB with an 11.47s run at the 4th MoC Grand Prix, she went on to make her international debut at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana, running 23.21s en route to winning a Bronze medal.
She carried on that magnificent form to the Nigerian Olympic Trials in Benin and defied all odds, becoming National 200m Champion in 23.14s. She drew the curtains on the season by participating at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru and will next season compete as a student-athlete at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC).
9. PATIENCE OKON-GEORGE
Patience Okon-George carried the Nigerian women’s 400m for over a decade and although there’s been a little bit of the changing of the guard, she remains one of the best sprinters in the country.
After she posted 51.97s in her 400m heat at the MTN CHAMPS/AFN National Trials in Asaba, she went into the final as a heavy favourite but finished in an unusual 6th place. A veteran of the game, she was selected for the African Games where she was instrumental in Nigeria winning two GOLD medals in the women’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays.
Okon-George ran two PBs in the 100m and 200m at the MoC Grand Prix in Lagos. She clocked 11.52s in the 100m and posted 23.44s over 200m before she competed at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana. There, she was part of a Nigerian 1-2 finish in the 400m, where she won a Silver medal.
Her next stop was at the Nigerian Olympic Trials, where in a hard-fought race, she ran a Season’s Best (SB) of 51.76s to finish 2nd, coming really close to winning her 8th national title. At the African Athletics Championships in Cameroon, she won two medals: a GOLD in the women’s 4x400m and Silver in the mixed 4x400m.
She went on to make her 3rd consecutive Olympic appearance in Paris where she ran the mixed 4x400m rounds, helping set a new National Record of 3:11.99.
8. JUSTINA EYAKPOBEYAN
Justina Eyakpobeyan didn’t start the season as strongly as she’d hoped—still coping with the recent loss of her father, which had impacted her training—but she managed to make a single appearance at the MTN CHAMPS/AFN National Trials in Asaba, securing her place on Nigeria’s team.
Before the season began, she had announced scholarship offers from top NCAA programs, with her leading choices being LSU, Texas, USC, and FSU, while turning down numerous offers from other schools like Alabama, Texas Tech, Auburn, and Texas A&M. At the African Games, she finished 5th in the 100m final and teamed up with Tobi Amusan, Olajide Olayinka, and Fore Abinusawa to claim GOLD in the 4x100m relay.
Known for her explosive start, Eyakpobeyan secured a staple spot as the lead-off on Nigeria’s relay team, contributing to the team’s qualification for the Paris Olympics at the World Relays in The Bahamas.
She won the women’s 100m at the 4th MoC Grand Prix in Lagos with a new PB of 11.24s and followed up with a strong victory at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana. Eyakpobeyan later placed 3rd in the women’s 100m final at the Nigerian Olympic Trials and won GOLD for Nigeria as part of the 4x100m relay team at the African Championships.
She made her Olympic debut in Paris in the 4x100m and competed at the World Athletics U20 Championships where she made it into the women’s 100m final. She is committed to USC for her collegiate career in the coming year.
7. OLAYINKA OLAJIDE
The year 2024 marked a significant breakout season for Olayinka Olajide. After some time off the sport, her appearance at the Dynamic Athletics Meet in Lagos in January was her first major competition in two years.
On that day, Olajide competed in and won three races – 60m, 100m, and 400m – in a span of six hours, setting PBs of 7.50s, 11.37s, and 55.35s respectively.
She really took flight less than a month later at the MTN CHAMPS/AFN National Trials in Asaba where she delivered a stunning performance, storming to a new PB of 11.19s to win the women’s 100m. She followed this up with another PB of 23.24s in the 200m, securing her place to compete in both events at the African Games in Ghana.
At the African Games, she won Nigeria’s first medal in Athletics, claiming a Bronze in the women’s 100m, which made her the first Nigerian woman in 12 years to achieve this feat. She also copped two other medals: a Silver at 200m and GOLD in the 4x100m, proving to be a vital asset on the Nigerian relay team for the season.
Olajide claimed two Silver medals at the CAA Region II Championships in Ghana, where she ran a PB of 23.16s in the 200m. She also secured 2nd place in both the women’s 100m and 200m at the Nigerian Athletics Championships.
Despite a demanding season, she reached the African Championships in Douala, where she made the women’s 100m final and earned a GOLD medal in the 4x100m relay. Her impressive performances led to her selection for the Nigerian team at the Olympic Games in Paris, and she is set to compete on the Texas Tech roster in the NCAA next year.
6. TIMA GODBLESS
Tima Godbless competed only once in 2023, at the African U20 Championships in Zambia. Her next appearance was at the Nigerian Athletics Championships, sporting her full LSU kit for what was meant to be her comeback. However, her season was cut short when she sustained an injury in the 100m semifinal.
In 2024, she returned for her freshman year but struggled to regain her form, pulling out of several indoor meets due to injury. Gradually, she eased back into outdoor competition, where flashes of her brilliance began to re-emerge.
She briefly stepped away from school to compete at the World Relays in The Bahamas, where she helped Nigeria secure qualification for the Paris Olympics in the 4x100m.
Godbless signalled her return to form by reaching the women’s 100m final at the SEC Outdoor Championships, clocking 11.14s to place 5th. She also set a new 200m PB and won Bronze with her school’s 4x100m team.
For the first time in her career, she broke 23 seconds in the 200m, taking a significant chunk off her time with a 22.63s run at the NCAA East Qualifiers in Kentucky. At the same meet, she set a new 100m PB of 11.03s.
She went on to improve her 200m PB, running 22.56s to qualify for the final of the women’s 200m at the NCAA Championships in Oregon. She also reached the 100m final, which made her the only freshman to qualify for both finals at the championships.
At the African Championships in Cameroon, Godbless captured GOLD in the women’s 4x100m and made her Olympic debut in Paris, competing in both the women’s 100m and 4x100m relay.
