Nigerian athletes showed strong performances over the weekend, with some of them setting Personal Bests (PB) while others posted impressive season-openers to commence their 2025 campaign.
It was a big week for Nigerian male quarter-milers, with Edidiong Udo headlining the event by making a strong NCAA debut for Ohio State. He won the men’s 400m at the Stan Scott Invite in Lubbock, Texas, with 45.61s, which was a PB and NCAA-lead, taking him to fourth on the all-time Nigerian list.
Ezekiel Nathaniel was off to a brilliant start at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational in Manhattan, clocking an impressive 45.56s, just 0.02s off his lifetime best. He dominated the race, finishing almost two seconds ahead of his teammate, Dillon Bedell who ran 47.18s to place 2nd. Nathaniel’s time is also the fastest by a Nigerian this season.
Racing in her second meet of the season, Tima Godbless achieved an indoor Personal Best (PB) of 23.52s, slashing off 0.26s from her initial PB to win her heat, placing 7th overall in the women’s 200m at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She also finished 3rd in the women’s 60m with 7.34s after winning her heat in 7.30s. Jadyn Mays won in 7.20s, while Kaila Jackson took 2nd in 7.32s.
Adaobi Tabugbo, a UCF athlete, proves that patience pays off. She had been chasing a sub-8.10s time and finally did it, running 8.06s at the Stan Scott Invitational in Texas. Eserogheene Awusa also impressed, clocking 8.23s in the semifinals.
The Sophomore of UTEP Miners, Rejoice Sule, ran 23.47s in the women’s 200m. She is now the fastest Nigerian over this distance in 2025. Her indoor PB remains 23.44s, set last year.
At the UW Invite, Omogor Blossom set a new School Record and PB in the women’s 400m, running 54.87s. Opeyemi Oke from Auburn also had a strong performance, clocking 53.44s at the Bob Pollock Invitational, an indoor PB, improving on her 54.44s from last week.
Udodi Onwuzurike ran 6.66s in the men’s 60m at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. It’s his season’s best. He finished behind Noah Lyles (6.55s) and Terrance Jones (6.59s). He placed 5th overall in the semifinals but didn’t run in the final.
Alaba Akintola started his 2025 season at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational in Louisville. He ran 6.66s in the men’s 60m final, matching his semifinal time to finish 3rd. Saminu Abdul-Rasheed won in 6.59s, while Neo Mosebi took 2nd in 6.62s.
After running a lifetime best of 6.61s in the heats, Folawiyo Olaoye bettered his PB to a time of 6.60s to finish 2nd in the men’s 60m at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting in Erfurt, Germany behind Heiko Gussmann who matched his PB of 6.58s to take the title.
Chidi Okezie ran 46.54s to win his men’s 400m heat at the Belgrade Indoor Meet. It’s his Season’s Best and his second-fastest indoor time since his 46.48s PB in 2016. Gilles Biron from France finished 2nd in 46.77s, while Rok Ferlan took 3rd in 46.96s.
