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Team Nigeria's men's 4x400m squad punched their ticket to the Olympic Games for the first time in 20 years.
African Games 400m champion Chidi Okezie led an iconic charge for Team Nigeria as the men's 4x400m squad secured an automatic Paris Olympics qualifying spot at the World Relays in the Bahamas.
The quartet of Dubem Nwachukwu, Dubem Amene, Sikiru Adewale, and Okezie all ran the race of their lives to finish second in a Season's Best (SB) of 3:01.70 - Nigeria's fastest time in twenty years. Belgium won the heat conveniently also in an SB of 3:00.09 and Jamaica were third in an SB of 3:02.46.
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More gratifying about the race was that each Nigerian team member maintained their close second qualifying spot from the start as Okezie brought it home with a stunning 44.46s split anchor to outpace the Jamaican runner for a convincing automatic qualification.
Securing their spot in Paris means Nigeria will return to the event at the Olympics for the first time since Athens 2004, where the team anchored by Enefiong Udo-Obong won a bronze medal.
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08:37 - 21.03.2024
African Games: Chidi Okezie emulates idol Innocent Egbunike, wins Nigeria's first gold medal in 37 years
Chidi Okezie became Nigeria's first African Games 400m champion since the legendary Innocent Egbunike did it in 1987.
Okezie's value to the quarter mile team is immeasurable as he played vital roles in the qualification of Nigeria for two events after the mixed 4x400m also punched their tickets.
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02:39 - 05.05.2024
World Relays: Nigeria's mixed 4x400m team seals ticket to Paris Olympic Games
Team Nigeria mixed 4x400m relay squad punched their automatic Paris Olympic qualifying ticket to Paris.
With the first and most important job done, the teams will be back on Day 2 for the finals to try and secure a medal and cap off an outstanding World Relays outing.
Meanwhile the women's 4x400m team DID NOT START due to the unavailability of a complete squad.
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