Nnamdi, Women’s 4x400m relay team to know Paris Olympics status July 7

Reigning African Games Javelin throw champion and Nigeria’s record holder, Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi and the Nigerian women’s 4x400m relay team will on July 7, 2024 know if they have secured spots in Nigeria’s team to the Paris Olympic Games.

Nnamdi and the 1600 relay team still have the opportunity to be in Paris for the Olympics if a few countries decide to decline their quota places in specific events including the relays.

This is a normal occurrence in an Olympic year and Nnamdi and the relay team may be beneficiaries of the reallocated quota places.

The entry standard for the Javelin throw is 85.50m and Nnamdi’s 82.80m personal season’s best which fetched him the gold in Accra, Ghana for the African Games title could not fetch him automatic qualification to his first Olympic Games.

The Nigerian’s series of throw over 80 metres and two above 78 metres have helped increased his ranking score which is now 1157 points. This means the 21 year old is just outside the 32 athletes needed to compete in the event at the Olympic Games.

If as many as four athletes via their respective National Olympic Committees, NOCs, decline their quota places, the Nigerian will be one of the athletes in line to benefit from the reallocation of the quota places.

The same will apply to the women’s 4x400m relay currently ranked 18th, just two places outside the 16 countries that have qualified for the event.

According to World Athletics, the final list of qualified athletes for the Games will be published on Tuesday July 2, 2024 while NOCs are given until July 4, 2024 to inform World Athletics of their intention to decline a quota place, whether in individual or relay events.

Thereafter, World Athletics will, between July 4 and July 6 2024, reallocate the now available (if any) quota places to the next best ranked athletes in the same event according to World Athletics’ World Rankings, respecting the maximum quota by NOC per event.

If an allocated team relay quota place is declined by the NOC, the quota place will be reallocated to the NOC whose relay team has recorded the next fastest time in the qualification period in accordance with World Athletics’ criteria for the qualification of relay teams.

‘On 7 July 2024, World Athletics shall publish the final list of all qualified individual athletes and relay teams eligible for final entry. ‘NOCs shall enter all athletes to Paris 2024 by the entries deadline of 8 July 2024,’ wrote World Athletics.