Team Nigeria got off to a solid start in the athletics category at the ongoing 2023 African Games in Ghana as three of its athletes qualified for the men’s 100m final in Ghana yesterday.
National champion Usheoritse Itsekiri schooled the field in the third semi-final, clocking a time of 10.29s for a thorough victory.
Consider Ekanem left nothing to chance in the first semi-final, coasting home in a time of 10.37s, defeating Ghana’s Aggerh Barnabas, who ran 10.42s to place second.
Sunday Israel Okon just missed out on qualifying by a spot, having finished 3rd in semifinal 2 with 10.47s.
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Earlier yesterday, Chidi Okezie who only arrived in Ghana on Sunday night competed in the men’s 400m heats.
Okezie was the second fastest overall in the men’s 400m, posting a Season’s Best of 45.89s to win heat 2 and booking his place in the semifinals.
Similarly, Esther Elo Joseph was the fastest woman in the five 400m heats at the Games as she ran the race of her life, posting a Lifetime’s Best of 51.81s.
Also, Brittany Aderinola Ogunmokun is through to the semifinals of women’s 400m, going through after finishing 3rd in heat 1 and booking an automatic spot just as Wisdom Great Musa got a big Q in his 110m Hurdles race, finishing 3rd in his heat to secure an automatic qualification into the final with a time of 14.35s (-1.1).
This is Musa’s first outing for Nigeria, and he is now continuing in the Nigerian tradition of having an athlete in the final of men’s 110m Hurdles, taking over from Abejoye Oyeniyi.
Meanwhile, as at time of press, the overall medal table continues to be led by Egypt, with a staggering 91 gold medals.
Team Nigeria holds onto second place with 27 golds, followed by South Africa (25), Algeria (22), and Tunisia (12).
The host, Ghana, has climbed to sixth place with nine gold, 22 silver, and 15 bronze medals.
