Team Nigeria contingent will depart Lagos on Wednesday aboard Turkish Airline for this weekend’s World Athletics Indoor Championships to be held in Belgrade, Serbia.
World and Olympic long jump medallist Ese Brume and the men’s 4x400m quartet of Sikiru Adewale Adeyemi, Samson Oghenewegba Samson, Timothy Emewoghene and Ifeanyi Emmanuel Ojeli will be in the flight to Belgrade while Ruth Usoro, the Nigeria triple jump record holder will fly from the United States of America to join the team for the championships.
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Former seven time national 100m champion and now coach, Endurance Ojokolo and veteran coach, Serghe Porbeni are the two accompanying coaches to the Championships.
Nigeria has won a total of 11 medals made up of two gold (Sunday Bada, 400m in 1997 and Olusoji Fasuba, 60m in 2008), six silver and three bronze medals.
Long jumper Paul Emordi won Nigeria’s first medal, a silver in the history of the championships at the inaugural edition held at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis, USA in 1987.
The late Sunday Bada remains the only Nigerian to have won multiple medals in the history of the championships after winning silver medals in the 400m event in 1993 and 1995 before becoming the first Nigerian to be crowned World Indoor champion in 1997 in Paris, France.