Amusan and Enekwechi to end 2024 as Nigeria’s top ranked athletes

Despite not making it to her second straight 100m hurdles final at the Olympics, reigning world record holder, Tobi Amusan is poised to end the 2024 calendar year as Nigeria’s top ranked female athlete while Shot Putter, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will be the top ranked man.

Amusan, with a ranking score of 1341 points garnered from running in the 100m hurdles and 60m hurdles events, will end a calendar year as the top ranked Nigerian woman for the sixth straight year while Enekwechi is also repeating as the country’s number one man for the sixth year in a row.

Paris 2024 Olympics 200m finalist, Favour Ofili is going to be ranked the second best, ahead of long jumper, Ese Brume who had been second behind Amusan in 2023 and 2022 with the 28-year-old World Indoor, Outdoor and Olympic medalist expected to drop to third.

Ruth Usoro and Prestina Ochonogor will complete the top five for women when the final ranking for the year is released next week.

For the men, who else but the incredible and young trio of Samuel Ogazi, Ezekiel Nathaniel and Kayinsola Ajayi will make the top four with Usheoritse Itsekhiri expected to complete the top five.

Ogazi has been a revelation of sort since he came into national reckoning when he successfully completed a 200m/400m double at the African U18 Championships last year in Ndola, Zambia.

Since then, the 18-year-old has blossomed and has raced into global focus following his incredible performances in the about to end year culminating in running six times inside 45 seconds and making to the final of the 400m event at the Olympics and on his debut.

Ogazi’s 44.41 performance at the Paris Olympics is on record as the fourth fastest time ever ran by a Nigerian over the distance following Innocent Egbunike’s incredible 44.17, 44.23 and 44.26 runs in 1987.