Ashe made history in June at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium as the first man since 1995 to run within10 seconds at the Nigerian Championships when he scorched to a 9.99 finish to win his first major title and first at the Championships.
By Uzor Odigbo
The year 2022 has been one of the best for Nigerian track and field especially globally. It is the year Nigeria had her first ever World outdoor champion and the year a Nigerian set a first ever world record.
It was the year Nigerian athletes returned to the World Indoor Championships podium in 14 years, and the year a Nigerian was ranked number one in an athletics discipline.
Nigeria won two medals at the World outdoor championships to equal the feat achieved in 1999 and 2013. It was also a year Nigerians set African records in two events.
These feats were achieved by the women while, for the umptenth time, Nigerian men under-performed.
In the midst of the under-performance, hopes were raised of a better tomorrow by a few of the guys.
Three of the athletes who painted pictures of a rosy future for the sport combined to produce the biggest performance of the season.
Based on World Athletics’ scoring table of athletics, three men whose performances ranked higher than their contemporaries in 2022.
So, who are these athletes whose performances raised hopes of a better tomorrow with their top of the ranking performances?
Favour Ashe, 100m (9.99): Ashe made history in June at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium as the first man since 1995 to run inside 10 seconds at the Nigerian Championships when he scorched to a 9.99 finish to win his first major title and first at the Championships.
The 20 year old emulated the feat performed by his former coach, Deji Aliu who was the first man to break 10 seconds in the event when he ran 9.98 to win the blue ribband gold in 2003.
Ashe’s perfromance not only confirmed his pre-championships rating following his performance at his first NCAA indoor and outdoor circuit but also as one for the future. He became the 12th Nigerian man to go under 10 seconds in the history of the event.
Udodi Onwuzurike, 200m (20.08): Onwuzurike stormed into national consciousness at the 2021 World U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya where he ran a new Nigeria U20 200m record (20.21) to become the second Nigerian man after Francis Obikwelu (1996) to win the hald lap gold.
In 2022, Onwuzurike improved his lifetime best in the event to 20.08, a time equivalent to running a 9.99 in the 100m.
Ezekiel Nathaniel, 400m Hurdles (48.42): For 35 years, the Nigerian quartermile barrier record of 48.50 achieved by Henry Amike stood without a challenge until a then 18 year Nathaniel made a bold and successful challenge. The effort paid off and he ran a new Nigeria U20 and Nigerian senior record of 48.42.
Nathaniel, a year earlier started as a 53 seconds runner and ended with a 48.89 at the World U20 Championship in Nairobi, Kenya. This geometrical rise gave hopes of a star in the making but none imagined he could break 49 seconds in the event. He not only did but broke a long standing record.
The national record setting performance is equivalent to running a 9.99 in the 100m and 20.08 in the 200m