By Uzor Odigbo
Team Nigeria’s women 4x400m relay team will be among the 16 nations that will file out for the event at the delayed 2020 Olympics after the team scorched to a 3:26.84 African lead Thursday at the Lagos Open Athletics Championship in Lagos.
The team, anchored by Patience Okon-George has now jumped to the front of the queue for the four available slots on offer for the event in Tokyo.
The quartet of World U-18 fastest girl so far this year, Imaobong Nse Uko, NCAA 200m finalist Favour Ofili, Knowledge Omovoh and Okon-George is now ranked 13th in the ranking for the best 16 nations that will be in Tokyo ahead of Belarus (3:28.14), Australia (3:28.64) and Switzerland (3:28.77) who have all provisionally qualified.
The 4x400m team has now become the second Nigerian relay team to qualify after the women’s 4x100m team led by Blessing Okagbare sealed their passage to the games with a 42.97 seconds run at the National Championship (Olympic Trials) last Thursday at the sports ground of Yaba College of Technology, Yaba,Lagos.
Nigeria won a silver medal in the event 25 years ago at the Atlanta Olympics where Falilat Ogunkoya led Charity Opara, Bisi Afolabi and Fatimah Yusuf to also set a new 3:21.04 seconds African record. The men’s 4x100m team however failed to make it despite improving to 38.59 seconds.
The men’s 4x400m team also failed to qualify but will, together with the 4x100m and 4x400m mixed relay teams get their final chance to book their flights to Tokyo at the MOC Relays on Sunday at the Sports ground of Yaba College of Technology, Yaba in Lagos