…as African Championships begin in Mauritius
Olympics bronze medallist Ese Brume and hurdler Tobi Amusan are Nigeria’s medal hopefuls as the 22nd African Athletics Championships begin at the Côte d’Or National Sports Complex in St Pierre, Mauritius Wednesday (today).
Heptathlete Kemi Francis begins the country’s chase for medals when she takes to the tracks today for the 100m hurdles in the women’s heptathlon.
Not ranked as the favourite for the event, the 29-year-old will be hoping to become the fifth Nigerian woman to mount the podium as African champion in the event after Bella Bell-Gam (1979 as Penthatlon), Patience Itanyi (1998), Patience Okoro (2008) and Uhunoma Osazuwa, who set a new 6,153 points Championships record six years ago in Durban, South Africa.
Nigeria has dominated the jumps, especially the women’s long jump, where they have won 11 of the 21 gold medals competed for so far, including the five from 2010.
And Olympics, world and Commonwealth Games medallist Brume stands as the favourite to win Nigeria’s 12th gold and her fourth straight title in the event.
In the hurdles, Amusan is the overwhelming favourite to retain the title she first won four years ago at the 21st edition in Asaba, Delta State, but the 25-year-old’s major challenge will be compatriot Glory Alozie’s 12.77secs Championships record set in Dakar, Senegal in 1998.
Team Nigeria will not only be seeking podium appearances, some of the home-based athletes who made the team will be seeking to qualify for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA.
“We are also going to book our tickets to World Athletics’ flagship event, the World Championships. As at today, only the women’s 4x100m and the mixed relay teams have qualified. We want to fight to improve on our 16th place for the two and also ensure we book our tickets in the other three viz the men’s 4x100m and 4x400m, as well as the women’s 4x400m,” Samuel Onikeku, Technical Director, Athletics Federation of Nigeria, said.
Nigeria finished third on the medals table four years ago in Asaba with nine gold, five silver and six bronze medals behind Kenya (11,6,2) and South Africa (9,14,8).
However, the country is the most successful nation in the history of the Championships, winning 155 gold, 122 silver and 91 bronze medals, followed by Kenya (144, 129, 109) and South Africa (129,114, 96).
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
