Nigerian athletes primed to light up LSU invitational tourney

Budding Nigerian athletes will this weekend participate at the Louisiana State University (LSU) Invitational in different events.

Favour Ofili will make her season’s debut as she is scheduled to race in the 100m and 4x100m relays, which will be her first individual race of the season.

It will be recalled that Ofili last participated in individual competition in the NCAA Indoor Championships, when she set a new African Record (AR) for the 200-meter semifinal with a time of 22.11 seconds, shattering her previous mark of 22.36 seconds.

She went on to win a silver medal in the final with an impressive time of 22.20s, but was defeated by Julien Alfred’s jaw-dropping performance of 22.01s, a Collegiate Record and the second-fastest time in world history.

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Ofili was a finalist at the competition and finished her indoor season with a 60-meter Personal Best (PB) of 7.14 seconds.

Since then, the speedster has only participated in a few relay races. She will now return to the track in an effort to set a fast time to begin her outdoor season.

In the same vein, Imaobong Uko from Baylor University will lead the Nigerian quarter-mile competitors when they compete in the 400m.

Uko has the Nigerian-leading time of 51.66s, which he set last weekend at the Michael Johnson Invitational, and she hopes to improve on it in LSU.

Onojuvwevwon has the second-fastest time of 52.52s, which she ran two weeks ago, and a new PB for the LSU freshman is possible, while Obi should target lowering her Season’s Best of 54.99s.

Both Uko and Onojuvwevwo will double in the 200m and the relays. Obi will run in the 4x100m and 4x400m, Uko in the 4x100m, and Onojuvwevwo in the 4x400m.