Amusan, Brume headline Nigeria’s Track And Field Team To 13th African Games
March 12, 2024
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Reigning African Games 100m hurdles and long jump champions, Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume will spearhead Team Nigeria’s battle for medals at the ongoing 13th
African Games holding in Ghana.
Amusan will be seeking a hat-trick of 100m hurdles gold as well as improve on the 12.68 Games record she set in 2019.
She made her debut in 2015 and extended Nigeria’s 100m percent record in the event. She successfully defended her title in 2019 and is heavily favoured to
become the second Nigerian woman to win three straight titles in the same event after Vivian Chukwuemeka.
Brume won her first African Games gold in the long jump in 2019 after placing fourth in her debut in 2015.
The 27 year old will now be seeking to become the second Nigerian woman and second athlete after Modupe Oshikoya (1973 and 1978) to successfully defend a
long jump title in Games history.
Ruth Usoro will be competing in the long and triple jumps. While she will have her compatriot, Brume to contend with in the long jump, it is in the triple
she could have it all her way as she is favoured to become the third Nigerian after Rosa Collins (1995) and Grace Anigbata (2019) to win the gold medal in
the event.
She will also be aiming to become the second athlete to win a long jump and triple jump double after Cameroon’s Joëlle Mbumi Nkouindjin who won both in 2015.
Defending Discus throw champion, Chioma Onyekwere is back to defend the title she first won in 2019 and will be keen to become the third African woman to
successfully defend an African Games crown in the event after Monia Kari of Tunisia (1995 and 1999) and South of Africa’s Elizna Naude (2003 and 2007).
It could be an all Nigerian affair in the event for the first time ever as the duo of Ashley Anumba and Pamela Obiageri will join Onyekwere in battling for
the three medals on offer.
Sade Olatoye is also on the list and will compete in both the Shot Put and Hammer throw. The 27 year old will be bidding to defend the Shot Put crown she won
in 2019 and probably become the first Nigerian to successfully complete a Shot Put and Hammer throw double in the history of the games.
For the men, all eyes will be on new sprint sensation, Ekanem Consider as the 19 year old will be attempting to win a medal his coach, Seun Ogunkoya was not
destined to win, an African Games gold despite two African Championship gold medals.
With the confirmed absence of reigning African and Commonwealth Games champion, Ferdinand Omanyala of Kenya, Consider will fancy his chances of succeeding
Raymong Ekevwo and in the process become the sixth Nigerian to win the African Games 100m gold.
In the men’s 400m event, the trio of Dubem Nwachukwu, Chidi Okezie and Nathaniel Ezekiel will be looking to put Nigeria on the map again 37 years after
Innocent Egbunike became the first and only Nigerian man to win gold in the event.
Ezekiel and his brother, Samson Nathaniel will also be seeking to return Nigeria to reckoning in the event 21 years after Osita Okeagu won the country’s
first and only gold medal in the 400m hurdles.
In the Shot Put, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will not only be looking to become the fourth man to successfully defend an African Games Shot Put title but will also
be keen to improve the 21.48m Games record he set four years ago on his way to striking gold.
Nigeria has topped the track and field medal table in 11 of the 12 editions held so far, with the 1995 Games in Harare, Zimbabwe the best in terms of the
number of gold medals won (15) while the athletics contingent hauled a record 38 medals four years earlier in Cairo, Egypt with 13 gold, 16 silver and nine
bronze medals.
