Okezie chases Tokyo 2025 entry standard and ranking points to FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix
Reigning African Games 400m king, Chidi Okezie will be at the starting blocks in the full lap race on Saturday at the FNB Botswana Golden Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold.
The Nigerian will kick off his 2025 outdoor campaign in Gaborone after a near successful indoor season.
The 31-year-old will be up against home boy Bayapo Ndori, the Olympic relay silver medalist who opened his season with back-to-back wins — 44.59 in Pretoria and 45.14 in Melbourne.
His 44.59 run is the second fastest in the World so far this year.
Okezie will be facing the Botswana star for the first time ever over the distance.
The Nigerian will also take on South Africa’s Lythe Pillay, the world U20 champion in 2022 who was fifth in the Olympic 4x400m final.
Pillay who holds a lifetime of 44.31, ran a personal season’s best time of 45.74 in Johannesburg. He has competed against the Nigerian once and that was in the reperchage round at the Paris 2024 Olympics. There he ran 45.40 to win ahead of Okezie who finished fifth in 45.92.
Okezie, who holds a lifetime best of 44.97 achieved last year, is out to either achieve the 44.85 entry standard to September’s World Athletics Championships which will be a tall order this early in the season or ranking points towards the same competition.
