Nigeria’s best athletes are expected to hit Asaba on February 16 for the Athletics Federation of Nigeria’s (AFN) Making of Champions (MoC) trials billed to hold at the Stephen Keshi Stadium from February 17 to 20, 2024.
The trials, according to the AFN, will be used to select athletes for the Africa Games scheduled for Accra, Ghana, in March.
The focus will be on the Women’s 100m event, where Tima Godbless, Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma are the favourites for the title.
Chukwuma ran a PB of 7.11 seconds in her debut 60m race of the season. Youngsters such as Faith Okwose and Tiana Eyakpobeyan will be hoping to cause an upset and perhaps, secure their first senior national call-up in the 4x100m relay team in Asaba Trials.
The men’s 400m is another highly anticipated event, having the presence of NCAA standout athlete, Dubem Nwachukwu.
Nwachukwu, who was exceptional in the NCAA in 2023, is expected to make a mark this time around, being the second time the US-based lad would be representing Nigeria.
He was at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where his target was to win his first Nigerian title and help the 4x400m relay team hit the standard. But that could not happen.
Also in the mix to win his senior title is new sensation, Samuel Ogazi, who was undefeated on home soil in the 2023 season. Ogazi blazed to sub-46seconds at AFN Golden League in Abuja, last year, and he is one of the US-based athletes expected to light up Asaba this weekend.
Ifeanyi Ojeli has found his groove back, just as Raphael Egbuchulem and Samson Nathaniel are also top podium contenders for Nigeria at the Africa Games.
In the field events, all eyes will be on Ese Brume and Ruth Usoro in Long Jump. World silver medallist, Brume, will be the outright favourite for the Women’s Long Jump title, if she comes to Asaba. But this time, she will have a mouthwatering clash with Ruth Usoro, who is also at her best this season.
Usoro soared to the fifth-best jump in the world in Bermuda last year, while Brume has continued to improve this year.
In the women’s Discus throw, defending champion, Chioma Onyekwere, NCAA silver medallist, Ashley Anumba, and National Sports Festival champion, Obiageri Amaechi, are capable of being crowned the winner in Asaba. Onyekwere is the defending champion in the women’s Discus event.
United States-based Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (men’s shot putt) and Nnamdi Chinecherem in the javelin throw (if present) will be unchallenged for the title in their events.
There are also new stars to watch out for at the Asaba National Trials.
United States-based high jumper, Temitope Adeshina, made big headlines a few weeks ago when she shattered the national high jump record held by Doreen Amata since 2016.
Adeshina, who made her second appearance in competitive meets in the U.S., cleared the height of 1.96m to erase Amata’s 1.93m indoor and 1.95 outdoor records at the Corky Classic in Texas. The 1.96m is just a fraction below the Olympics qualification standard.
Adeshina will be the cynosure of all eyes at the Africa Games in Ghana.
New sensation, Consider Ekanem, will also attract attention in Asaba. Many athletics-loving Nigerians were in a celebrating mood a few days ago when World Athletics finally acknowledged Ekanem’s 100m performance of 10.10seconds as the fastest time in the world so far this season.
He set the record at the Dynamics Athletics Meeting at the Navy Sports Ground in Ojo, Lagos at the end of January.
Ekanem, trained by former African record holder, Seun Ogunkoya, stormed home first in an impressive, lifetime best setting of 10.10 seconds. It remains the fastest time in the world over the distance, supplanting the 10.13second Cameroon’s Itoungue Bogognie ran some days earlier.
Many expect him to follow in the footsteps of his coach, Ogunkoya, who also stormed the Nigerian athletics scene with a big bang in 1996, running 10.15seconds on the road to winning the National Sports Festival title before breaking 10 seconds the following year. He also upstaged the great Davidson Ezinwa to win the Nigerian Championships.
