Nigeria Relay Teams Eye More World Athletics Championships Spots

Team Nigeria will continue their quest to secure more tickets to the World Championships on the final day of the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.

In the mixed 4x400m, Nigeria will battle hosts Botswana, South Africa, Ireland, alongside European heavyweights the Netherlands and Germany, with only two automatic qualification spots available.

For the men’s 4x400m, Nigeria will go head-to-head with Jamaica, Spain, Germany, and Kenya, all of whom posted faster times in the opening round.

The women’s 4x400m quartet will aim to give their all against France, Jamaica, and Ireland. All three rivals dipped below the 3:30 mark in earlier rounds, leaving Nigeria with little margin for error.

The women’s 4x100m team, who dropped the baton in their heat, will return to the track hoping to atone for the mishap. They will face the formidable United States, Belgium, France, and South Africa, who set a national record of 43.22 seconds. Meanwhile, the men’s 4x100m team may have a slightly more open path in Heat 2, where they will take on Jamaica, Japan, and Belgium.

Meanwhile, only the mixed 4x100m relay team will compete in the final, having already secured qualification. Their focus will be on the $40,000 prize for the winner, while second and third place earn $20,000 and $10,000, respectively.

However, they will face stiff competition from the Netherlands, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, the United States, Jamaica, Germany, and Spain.

With Jamaica entering as the fastest team this season at 39.99 seconds, Nigeria—drawn in lane one—will need a near-perfect race to challenge for medals. Teams finishing eighth are guaranteed $2,000.

A total of 723 athletes from across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania are competing at the World Relays.