Nigeria track & field athletes to the 13th African Games ended their campaign on Friday with a total of 21 medals made up of 11 gold, six silver and four bronze medals to record their fourth best position in the history of the Games.
Tobi Amusan led the gold winners list after she successfully defended her 100m hurdles title to become the first high hurdler to win three straight gold medals in the history of the games.
Ese Brume followed with another historic performance, becoming the second woman to successfully defend a long jump title after Modupe Oshikoya.
Chidi Okezie also produced another historic moment, winning Nigeria’s first 400m gold in 37 years.
The last time a Nigerian quartermiler mounted the African Games podium as champion was in 1987 when Innocent Egbunike ran a 44.23 games record to win the gold. Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also carved a piece of history for himself as the first Nigerian to retain a Shot Put gold medal at the Games.
Ruth Usoro hopped, stepped and jumped 13.80m to win the triple jump gold, her first in her first appearance at the Games.
Pamela Obiageri Amaechi also won her first African Games gold in the absence of her friend and defending champion, Chioma Onyekwere.
Chinecherem Nnamdi added his name to the list of Nigerian history makers after ensuring the country’s return to the African Games podium as champion for the first time in 29 years.
He did it in style by setting an 82.80m national record.
The Nigerian women’s 4x400m relay team lived up to billing to win their 10th straight gold in the history of the Games while the men extended their chase for
Nigeria’s first gold medal win in the event by another fours years, 21 years after the team was last crowned African Games champion.
Nigeria achieved her best ever performance in 1995 when the team led by Mary Onyali won a record 15 gold medals. Onyali and company ended the Games with a total of 32 medals made up of 15 gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals to beat the feat achieved in 1987 in Nairobi Kenya where the team led by Innocent Egbunike won 14 gold, seven silver and six bronze medals.
The country’s athletics team won 13 gold medals in 1991, 1999 and 2003.
The team however tops the medal table for the 11th time in 13 appearances. The team topped in 1965, 1978, 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and
now 2024.
The country was stripped of the gold medal won by Oyesade Olatoye in the Shot Put in 2019 due to eligibility issue which ensured Nigeria dropped to second on
the medal table behind Kenya in 2019.
Source/Uzor Odigbo/WhatsApp
