Anumba, Amaechi must set new lifetime best to secure positions in Olympics Discus throw final

Reigning African Athletics Championships champion, Ashley Anumba and African Games queen, Obiageri Pamela Amaechi must throw well beyond their personal best to secure tickets to the final of the Discus throw event when it begins on Friday inside the main bowl of Stade de France in Saint-Dennis in Paris.

Anumba holds a lifetime best of 61.98m and has done a 61.00m this year while Amaechi set a new lifetime best of 63.17m this year but must now up their game and throw at least 64.00m to be sure of qualification or be among the top 12 from the two qualifying groups.

The third Nigerian, African record holder at 64.96m, Chioma Onyekwere only needs to throw 96m lower than her lifetime best to secure her passage but the 30 year old has only thrown 61.35m personal season’s best this year and has not hit the 62m mark since she set the African record in April last year.

No Nigerian woman has made the final of this event and the trio of Anumba, Amaechi and Onyekwere will be looking to make history again like the duo of Amaechi and Onyekwere did at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2022 when they both made it to the podium with Onyekwere emerging champions.

The odds are however heavily stacked against the trio who must take their game to a new level.