Nigeria women's 4×400m relay team secures World Relay spot
The 2026 MTN CHAMPS Athletics Classics in Calabar concluded on a thrilling note on Day Three, highlighted by the qualification of Nigeria’s women’s 4x400m relay team for the upcoming World Relays Championships set to take place in Botswana in May.
The quartet of three-time Olympian Patience Okon-George, alongside rising talents Anita Enaruna, Treasure Okereke, and Jecinter Lawrence, delivered a composed performance to clock 3:31.14. The time lifted Nigeria to 21st in the world rankings, displacing Mexico and sealing a spot at this year’s World Relays the first time the competition will be hosted on African soil.
Ethiopia finished a distant second in 3:38.31, while Team Nigeria B crossed the line third in 3:40.50.
The feat marks the second time a Nigerian relay team has secured World Relays qualification at an MTN CHAMPS event. The mixed 4x100m relay team, currently the country’s other qualified squad, achieved the milestone during the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays in Lagos last year.
Nigeria’s men’s 4x400m team, however, fell agonisingly short of qualification. The team of Emmanuel Ojeli, Gafar Badmus, Victor Sampson, and Samson Nathaniel clocked 3:04.59, narrowly missing the qualifying mark of 3:03.46.
Team Nigeria B finished second in 3:11.78, while Ethiopia placed third in 3:21.44.
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