Team Nigeria women’s 4x400m relay team have qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after racing to a 3:26.84 African lead time at the Lagos Open Athletics Championship at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.
The 4x400m team have become the second Nigerian relay team to qualify after the women’s 4x100m team led by Blessing Okagbare secured their spot at the games with a 42.97 seconds run at the National Championships (Olympic Trials) last week Thursday at the sports ground of the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.
The quartet of Imaobong Nse Uko, NCAA 200m finalist Favour Ofili, Knowledge Omovoh, and Okon-George is now ranked 13th in the ranking for the best 16 nations that will be in Tokyo ahead of Belarus (3:28.14), Australia (3:28.64) and Switzerland (3:28.77) who have all provisionally qualified.
Nigeria won a silver medal in the event 25 years ago at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where the legendary Falilat Ogunkoya led Charity Opara, Bisi Afolabi, and Fatimah Yusuf to also set a new 3:21.04 seconds African record.
Unfortunately, the men’s 4x100m team however failed to make it despite improving to 38.59 seconds. But they, alongside the 4x100m and 4x400m mixed relay teams, have a final chance to book their tickets to Tokyo at the MOC Relays on Sunday in Lagos.
Source: Channels