Tima Godbless Tops List Of Three Teenagers To Watchout For In 2023

The 2023 track and field season is up and running and Nigeria will be seeking to consolidate on the successes recorded in the preceding year.

In 2022 a number of Nigerian teenage track and field athletes ( 19 and under) started their journey to stardom and will hope to become truly world class in 2023.

Here, Sportsnow.com.ng takes a look at three of them who should transform to world class stars capable of helping Nigeria to the podium at the 19th World Athletics

Championships in Budapest in August and the 2024 Olympics in Paris…

Ella Onovjevwevwo:
Ella, now a student athlete at Louisiana State University in Texas, USA has been tipped to be the next big thing in Nigerian track and field.

Still 17, Ella ran a 52.59 lifetime best last June at the Nigerian championships in Benin City, Edo state. That time was ranked the third fastest by an U18 athlete in the world last year.

With Ella’s switch to LSU, the same University that ensured Favour Ofili’s fulfiling her potential, athletics observers are convinced Nigeria’s long serach for the

athlete that will step into the big shoes left by Falilat Ogunkoya, Charity Opara and Fatimah Yusuf is about to end.

Tima Godbless:
Two years ago at the Nigerian championships in Lagos, Rotimi Obajimi, a former World Athletics lecturer and course director took a look at Tima and declared she will

be the sprinter to beat if she can get a good coach.

Obajimi, then the General Coordinator for Team Nigeria for the Tokyo Olympics said Tima can convenient run a 10.8 in the 100m.

A year later, Tima started to fulfil Obajimi’s expectations from an 11.5 runner to improve to an 11.09 runner and Nigeria’s U20 record holder. The 18 year old is now

at LSU, the school where Favour Ofili has blossomed to a phenomenom in less than two years.

Ezekiel Nathaniel:
Who could have ever thought Henry Amike’s 48.50 Nigeria 400m hurdles record would be broken by an athlete who began 2021 as a 53 seconds runner but ended that year as

the 13th Nigerian to run inside 50 seconds in the event?

Well, Ezekiel not only improved from 53.29 to 49.89 in 2021 but became the Nigeria 400m hurdles record holder the following year. In less than one year, the 19 year

old improved from a 53 seconds runner to become the fourth Nigerian 400m barrier runner to run a sub 49 seconds and the national record holder!

Ezekiel knows he will need to make further history by running inside 48 seconds before he can start fighting for podium appearances at global athletics events. Who can

best against an athlete who made such a geometrical improvement in one year?