The 2024 season was a memorable one for Nigerian track and field athletes, with standout performances at several events including the African Games, African Championships and the Olympics. We will wrap up the second part of our series on Nigeria’s Top 10 Female Athletes in 2024 with the Top 5 athletes on our list. Here’s the link to Part 1 of the series.
5. Ashley Anumba
Former National Champion in the women’s Discus, Ashley Anumba had an inspiring season. Competing at the International Track Meet in Christchurch, she set a new Season’s Best (SB) with a throw of 57.13m. Her first major competition of the year was the African Games in Ghana where she narrowly missed a podium placement, finishing 4th.
However, she bounced back at the Hallesche Werfertage in Germany, improving her SB to 61.00m. Anumba earned her first international medal at the African Championships in Douala, taking GOLD in the women’s Discus with a throw of 59.30m on her final attempt, inspiring a 1-2-3 for Team Nigeria for the first time since 2016 when Nwanneka Okwelogu, Chinwe Okoro and Chioma Onyekwere won GOLD, Silver and Bronze respectively. This time around, Obiageri Amaechi and Onyekwere were the ones to join Anumba on the podium.
Anumba also made her Olympic debut, making history with Onyekwere and Amaechi as the first time that Nigeria was fully represented in the women’s Discus at the quadrennial games.
4. Obiageri Amaechi
Obiageri Amaechi started the 2024 season strong. In only her second outing of the year, which turned out to be the African Games, she set a new Personal Best (PB) of 58.93m on her final attempt to win GOLD and paved the way for a 1-2 for Nigeria, with Chioma Onyekwere settling for Silver.
She finally broke the 60-metre-mark in grand style as she smashed her lifetime best to a brilliant 62.92m at the Oklahoma Throw Series in Ramona, USA. Amaechi went all out in her series as all her legal attempts were PBs (60.07m, 59.93m, 62.92m, and 60.65m). Her mark instantly became an African and National Lead and also leapfrogged her to 2nd and 3rdon the all-time Nigerian and African lists respectively.
But she was not done yet. A month after at the Oklahoma Throws Series, she outdid herself. The Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist bettered her PB to a distance of 63.17m and went on to claim Silver with a distance of 58.80m at the African Championships in Cameroon. She made her Olympics debut in Paris, and along with Onyekwere and Anumba, formed part of the trio that ensured that Nigeria was fully represented in the women’s Discus throw at the Games.
3. Favour Ofili
Favour Ofili headlined her indoor season by smashing the 14-year-old African 300m Record previously held by Botswana’s Amantle Montsho with a superior time of 35.99s, ranking her 10th on the all-time list. She started her individual outdoor campaign with a wind-aided 10.85s, her fastest season opener under all conditions.
Weeks later, she ran the 3rd fastest time ever recorded by a Nigerian under any conditions, when she won the women’s 100m in a photo finish at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, with a marginal wind-aided time of 10.78s (2.2m/s). Ofili qualified for the Olympics after racing to victory in 22.33s in the 200m at the Tom Jones Invitational.
She was a part of the successful quartet that qualified Nigeria for its 9th consecutive Olympics in the women’s 4x100m dating back to 1992, at the World Relays in The Bahamas. She once again shattered the African Record by running the joint 2nd fastest time on the 150m all-time list. Competing at the Nigerian Olympic Trials, she claimed her first 100m National title in 11.06s, qualifying her for the Olympics.
Unfortunately, Ofili was not registered for the 100m in Paris but the 200m National Record holder translated the disappointment into resilience as she created history by becoming the first Nigerian since the legendary Mary Onyali to qualify for an Olympic 200m final since Atlanta 1996, placing in the top three overall in the heats and semis. She ultimately placed 6th with a time of 22.24s, just 0.04 from Bronze medallist, Brittany Brown.
Ofili ran one of the fastest splits of 10.09s in the 2nd leg of the 4x100m, where Nigeria placed 9th overall, narrowly missing the final. Ofili’s 22.05s recorded in the semis at the Olympics placed her as the 7th fastest overall across the 200m in the 2024 season.
2. Tobi Amusan
Tobi Amusan is a true record-breaker, redefining excellence with every race. The World Record (WR) holder kicked off her 2024 season in style, delivering a stunning performance at the World Athletics Indoor Tour in Astana. In her season’s debut, Amusan rewrote Nigerian history once again, breaking Glory Alozie’s previous National and African Record of 7.82s in the 60m hurdles set in Madrid in 1999 and replacing it with an impressive 7.77s.
The following month, she further lowered the record to 7.75s while competing at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, cementing her status as one of the world’s best athletes in the event. Amusan showed up at her third consecutive African Games and retained her title, the third in a row, crossing the line in 12.89s and anchoring the women’s 4x100m team to GOLD.
In May, she sailed to a World Lead (WL) and Season’s Best (SB) of 12.40s at the Jamaican Invitational and defended her National crown with a time of 12.78s in June. Amusan showed up at the African Championships in Douala, Cameroon, where she anchored the women’s 4x100m to GOLD and in the build up to the Olympics, clocked 12.49s at the Holloway Classic.
At the Paris 2024 Olympics in August, Amusan set her sights on her first Olympic medal. Although she didn’t make it to the 100m hurdles final, finishing third in her heat with a time of 12.55s, Amusan continues to inspire, proving that setbacks are just setups for bigger comebacks.
1.Ese Brume
Undefeated in Africa for nearly a decade, whether you call her ‘Air Brume’ or Ese ‘Consistent’ Brume, one thing’s for sure – the African Record holder in the women’s Long Jump can always be counted upon to show up for Nigeria.
Starting indoors, she kicked off her season at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, where she jumped 6.58m and secured 3rd place. But the real highlight came at the Howie Ryan Invitational, where Brume soared to a 6.84m jump to improve on her Season’s Best (SB).
Brume made her third African Games appearance in Accra where she leapt to GOLD with a wind-aided 6.92m (3.9m/s) to defend her title, culminating in a 1-3 for Nigeria as Prestina Ochonogor settled for Bronze. She then took on the Chula Vista High Performance Meet where she delivered another impressive performance, reaching a wind-aided jump of 6.94m, her best all-conditions mark this season.
The reigning Commonwealth Games Champion made history as the first long jumper, male or female, to win four titles at the African Athletics Championships (2014, 2016, 2018 and 2024), regaining her title in Douala after missing the last edition of the championships held in Mauritius.
At the Paris Olympics, Brume helped Nigeria achieve a historic milestone, qualifying for the women’s Long jump final alongside Ruth Usoro and Ochonogor, marking the first time three Nigerian athletes made it to the final of an Olympic individual event. The Delta State native eventually finished 5th in the final, Nigeria’s best placement at the 2024 Olympics.
