Nigeria underlined its dominance in youth athletics on the final day of the third edition of the CAA African U-18/U-20 Athletics Championships, as home favourite Miracle Ezechukwu led a sensational clean sweep in the girls’ 200m, powering to her third gold medal of the championship.
At the packed MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta on Sunday, Ezechukwu stormed to victory in the U-18 200m final with a personal best of 23.87s.
Her compatriots Chigozie Nwankwo and Perezide Sigah finished second and third, respectively, recording 24.01s and 24.26s, to complete an emphatic Nigerian 1-2-3.
Ezechukwu, who also clinched gold in the 100m earlier in the event, described the championships as a dream come true and expressed her gratitude to her coach and the organisers.
Moments after the U-18 triumph, Nigeria repeated the feat in the U-20 women’s 200m final as Success Oyibu led another clean sweep for the host nation when she blazed to a new personal best of 23.56s.
She was closely followed by U-20 100m champion Chioma Cynthia Nweke (23.95s) and Lucy Nwankwo (24.24s) to ensure Nigeria captured all six medals available across both female sprint categories.
Oyibu credited her performance to divine guidance and her camp’s preparation.
Earlier in the day, Nigeria won a protest regarding its U-20 men’s 4x100m relay team.
After initial claims of an exchange outside the zone, the Confederation of African Athletics ruled in Nigeria’s favour, awarding the quartet of Saliu Toyeeb, Joachim Uyovwiyoma, John Caleb and Malik Oluwatobi the gold medal, which earned Nigeria’s third consecutive title in the event.
Nigeria also won gold and set a championship record in the women’s U-20 4x400m relay, with the team of Odot Udo, Toheebat Jimoh, Anita Enaruna and Favour Onyah clocking 3:37.02.
They shattered a record that had stood since 1997, finishing nearly eight seconds ahead of their South African rivals.
Not to be outdone, the U-20 men’s 4x400m squad of Victor Sampson, David Akhalu, Gafar Badmus and Ezekiel Asuquo closed the evening in spectacular fashion.
Their championship record run of 3:06.66 took down a long-standing mark and capped a glittering final day for Nigeria.
There were standout performances from other African countries. South Africa’s Mukona Manavhela won his third gold medal of the competition by winning the U-18 boys’ 200m in 21.29s.
Botswana’s Justice Oratile completed a sprint double in the U-20 category, adding the 200m crown (21.02s) to his 400m title.
In the hurdles events, South Africa’s Tumi Ramokgopa won the U-20 100mH/400mH double, while her compatriot Myburgh Stiaan overcame a stumble to win the U-18 boys’ 400mH in 52.71s.
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