Egwero, was the favourite to win the race, having swept through the semi-final with the best time. But he was dusted by Seye Ogunlewe, an emerging sprint talent in a tight race, which the starting officials made a mess of after a false start.
Ogunlewe, pulled out of the pack even as Egwero struggled to put his race back together after the distraction at the start. But it was all a matter of seconds and Ogunlewe raced to finish at 10: 19; Egwero finished at 10:21 while Jonathan Nnmaju was third with 10.30 seconds.
The other highlight of the day was in the men 400m hurdles. Miles Ukaoma, the 2014 American NCCA champion, ran 48: 85 seconds much to the delight of athletics officials who waited for more than 10 years to see such a performance by Nigerian athletes in that discipline. Henry Amike’s 48:50 seconds remains the national record since 1987.
The women 400m also produced an excitement. It was a hot contest between Patience Okon George and Regina George, but it was Okon George who held onto her lead from the last curve to finish at 51.31 seconds, while flamboyant George checked in at 51.65 seconds. Margaret Etim was third with 52:64.
‘It was a hard race and I was never in doubt that Regina is a worthy competitor,’ said Okon George.
The men’s version of the race did not provoke much interest. Chidi Okezie finish at 46.15 seconds, Nathaniel Oghenewvegba was second with 46:20 and Noah Akwu was third with 46.38.
In the women 200m, junior athlete Praise Idamadudu was too strong for other competitors. She finished in 23. 48, Gloria Asumnu was second with 23.53, while Ngozi Onwumere placed third with 23.74.
Also another junior athlete, Peter Odele beat Obinna Metu and Egwero to the title in men’s 200m,. He ran 20:47 seconds, while Metu and Egwero clocked 20.57 and 20. 60 respectively.
No comments:
Post a Comment