Ofili, Chukwuma, Ogunlewe storm Louisiana for 2025 LSU Alumni Gold; Ese Brume to jump at Drake Relays

Favour Ofili is returning to a familiar ground, the Bernie Moore Track Stadium located on the campus of Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she will run her first 100m race of the year.

The 22 year old tops the list of notable Nigerian sprinters confirmed for the event which holds on Saturday.

Ofili, confirmed for the second leg of Michael Johnson’s money-spinning Grand Slam Track early next month will gauge her preparedness for the competition with the 2025 LSU Alumni Gold.

The Paris 2024 Olympics 200m finalist has tested her readiness in the 200m event after running 22.34 to come second behind Olympic 100m champion, Julien Alfred at the Tom Jones Memorial in Gainesville, Florida eight days ago.

She will be running in the short sprint (100m and 200m) category at the Grand Slam Track where a top prize of $100,000 awaits her if she wins.

Also competing is Rosemary Chukwuma, the second fastest Nigerian woman, living or dead, in the 100m.

Chukwuma ran 10.88 last May in Fayetteville, Arkansas to move to second behind Blessing Okagbare (10.79) in the Nigerian all-time list but was unable to prove at the Paris 2024 Olympics that it was not by happenstance.

The 23 year old now gets a chance to prove she is for real and ready to dominate the sprint world.

Also listed to compete is Praise Ofoku, the 21 year old who was fourth in the blue ribband event at the World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021.

In the 200m, Tima Godbless should run with less pressure after blazing to a 22.55 lifetime best eight days ago in Florida which secured her a ticket to September’s 20th World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Godbless, who will be dethroned as National Sports Festival double sprint champion without a fight next month in Abeokuta will be aiming to run faster on her school ground.

In the men’s 100m event, Seye Ogunlewe, unjustly dropped from Team Nigeria’s contingent to the Paris 2024 Olympic, will be competing for the first time this season.

Ogunleye will be joined in the event by Gracious Junior Ushie who holds a personal best of 10.25 achieved in Ilaro, Ogun state April 2022 and Kingsley Unorji, a member of the gold-winning Nigeria U18 team to the African U18 and U20 Championships in Zambia in 2023.

Meanwhile, Ese Brume is set to return to action after recuperating from a car crash early this year.

The Nigerian, who was 29 in January, has not competed since she jumped 6.70m to finish fifth at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The World indoor, outdoor, Olympics, Commonwealth Games and African Games medalist will also get the chance to return to World Athletics ranking list.

She will be competing against familiar foes led by reigning World indoor and Olympic Games champion, Tara Davis-Woodhall and another American, Quanesha Burks who was fourth at the 2022 World Championships.

Also competing is African Shot Put king, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi who will be looking to hit the magical 22m mark this year.

He holds a 21.91 lifetime best and 21.25 personal season’s best.