2024 World Athletics Relays: Team Nigeria draw USA in Mixed Relay, Women’s 4x100m and 4x400m events!
Team Nigeria’s 4x400m mixed relay team and the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams will have to be at their best if they desire to punch their tickets to the Paris Olympics in the first round of the World Athletics Relays which start on Saturday in Nassau, Bahamas.
The three relay teams will have to overcome their major obstacle, the USA relay teams if they want to pick one of the two automatic tickets to not only the Paris Olympics this summer but also to the final of the event in Nassau to qualify for a share of the prize money on offer.
In the mixed relay team, Nigeria, the world leader so far this year, has been drawn in the second heat where they will have to overcome the almighty USA and Bahrain which have some notable Nigerians listed to compete including 2019 World 400m champion, Salwa Eid Naser who ran 50.98 in the Dominican Republic last month and Kemi Adekoya who ran 51.63 at the Kip Keino Classic in Kenya also last month.
The Nigerians will also battle South Africa and India in the heat.
The women’s 4x100m team to be led by Favour Ofili in the absence of Tobi Amusan will also have to contest for the two tickets on offer in heat one where they have been drawn alongside USA, Switzerland and Brazil. France and Japan are also drawn in what looks like a very tough heat.
For the women’s 4x400m team who may not compete if Omolara Ogunmakinju fails to make it to Nassau on Saturday, the road to picking one of the two automatic tickets on offer is also rough and tough as USA is seen as the first to pick a ticket, leaving a highly depleted Nigerian team that will certainly not have veteran and experienced Patience Okon George to help battle for the remaining ticket and a place in the final with Belgium, Brazil, Norway and Portugal in heat four.
The men’s 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams have been spared the agony of facing the USA teams but will still need to be at their best to seal one of the two automatic tickets one offer in their respective heats.
While the men’s 4x100m relay team without Godson Oghenebrume and Favour Ashe will have to outrun Great Britain, Turkey, Spain, Poland, Trinidad and Tobago and France, the 4x400m team also without Nathaniel Ezekiel, Ifeanyi Ojeli and Samson Nathaniel will bank on Chidi Okezie, the African Games 400m champion and the two Dubems, Nwachukwu and Amene to overcome the challenge posed by Belgium complete with the Borlee brothers (Dylan, Jonathan and Kévin) as well as Jamaica, the Czech Republic and Turkey.
Team Nigeria will still have a second chance on day two of the competition if they fail to get all five relay tickets on day one.
Teams who fail to get the tickets on day one will be pooled together on the second day where the first two in each heat (expected to be three now) will automatically qualify but will not run in the final of the events in Nassau.
