Nigeria: Two Nigerian Teams Qualify for Olympic Games Relays

The Mixed Relay team finished behind the USA, who set a Championship Record of 3:11.52.

Team Nigeria has booked places at the Paris Olympics in the Mixed 4x400m relay and 4X400m men's events.

The two relay teams early Sunday morning secured automatic qualification spots at the ongoing World Relays in the Bahamas.

Finishing second in their heat with a time of 3:13.79, the quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph ensured Nigeria's presence on the Olympic stage again for the Mixed Relay.

The team finished behind the USA, who set a Championship Record of 3:11.52.

"I knew we were going to qualify," Samuel Ogazi confidently stated to the MakingofChampions crew in the Bahamas.

Team Nigeria also qualified in the 4X400m men's event as they finished in the second automatic qualification spot with a season's best 3:01.70 in Heat 2 behind Belgium (3:00.09).

Not lucky

While the mixed relay team and 4X400m men celebrated success, the story was different for Nigeria's other relay teams. They fell short of automatic Olympic qualification in both the men's and women's 4x100m and the women's 4x400m events.

In the women's 4x100m, the Nigerian quartet of Justina Eyakpobeyan, Favour Ofili, Olayinka Olajide, and Tima Godbless narrowly missed out on an automatic ticket, finishing third in their heat with a time of 43.15s.

The USA dominated the race with a time of 42.21s, while France's Mallory Leconte edged out Godbless for second place in 43.09s.

The men's 4x100m team, consisting of Udodi Onwuzuruike, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola, and Seye Ogunlewe, finished fourth in their heat with a time of 38.47s.

Unfortunately, due to visa issues and last-minute injuries, Team Nigeria was unable to compete in heat 4 of the women's 4x400m.

Qualification guidelines

At the World Athletics Relays Bahamas 24, the top 14 teams in each relay event automatically qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Teams have two chances to secure their spot: one on the first day and another on the second day of the competition.

The remaining two slots in each relay discipline will be awarded based on the top rankings during the qualification period (31 December 2022 to 30 June 2024).

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