Nigeria secured four World Championships tickets as Team Nigeria wrapped up their campaign at the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone on Sunday with two additional qualification spots for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, adding to their opening day success.
Having already claimed a mixed 4x100m relay ticket with an African record on Day One, Nigeria returned with renewed focus for the repechage events on Day Two, where two more tickets were secured.
In the mixed 4x400m relay, the quartet of Samson Nathaniel, Mary Kudoro, Chidi Okezie and Patience Okon-George delivered a season’s best time of 3:12.88 to finish second behind South Africa, who won in 3:12.77 after overtaking Nigeria on the home straight.
The race saw both teams exchange the lead multiple times, but Okon-George’s experience proved decisive as she held off Germany to secure Nigeria’s qualification spot.
Redemption came in the women’s 4x100m repechage after a disappointing outing on Saturday.
The team of Rosemary Nwankwo, Obi Chukwuka, Maria Thompson-Omokwe and Miracle Ezechukwu produced a season’s best of 42.94 seconds to finish second behind France (42.92s), booking their place at the World Championships.
Team Nigeria secure qualification tickets for the 2027 World Athletics Championships. FP
However, it was a different outcome in the men’s sprint relay.
The quartet of Favour Ashe, James Emmanuel, Tejiri Godwin and Chidera Ezeakor finished third in their heat with a time of 38.50 seconds, missing out on qualification behind Belgium and Jamaica.
Nigeria also fell just short in the men’s 4x400m relay, where a time of 3:01.43 was not enough to secure a place, as Spain and Senegal edged ahead in a tightly contested finish.
Gafar Badmus set the tone with a 45.83-second opening leg, before Emmanuel Ojeli pushed Nigeria into the lead with a 45.06-second split. Victor Ime maintained the pace on the third leg, while Ezekiel Asuquo closed strongly, but the effort narrowly missed qualification.
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The women’s 4x400m team did not start their repechage race, leaving Nigeria with a total of three confirmed tickets from the final day’s events.
Despite the mixed results, Nigeria also secured qualification for the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest in September through the mixed 4x100m relay team, who finished among the top six in the final.
The event was won by Jamaica, who set a new world record of 39.62 seconds.
Overall, the performances in Gaborone underline Nigeria’s continued strength in relay events, with multiple teams now set to compete on the global stage in Beijing next year.
