According to PUNCH Sports Extra, Team Nigeria secured two additional tickets to the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and another ticket to the World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which is scheduled for Budapest in September, as they concluded their campaign at the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, on Sunday.
After missing out on the other five events and winning a mixed 4x100m relay ticket with an African record on the first day, there were new chances in the repechage on Day 2, and two were taken. In the mixed 4x400m, the quartet of Samson Nathaniel, Mary Kudoro, Chidi Okezie, and Patience Okon-George began the day with a season-best time of 3:12.88, placing second behind South Africa, who passed them on the home straight to win in 3:12.77.
Throughout the race, South Africa and Nigeria switched places several times. Okon-George’s experience helped Nigeria withstand pressure from third-place Germany and earn a second World Championship ticket.Rosemary Nwankwo, Obi Chukwuka, Maria Thompson-Omokwe, and Miracle Ezechukwu returned for the repechage after losing to baton exchange errors in the women’s 4x100m on Saturday. They set a season-best time of 42.94s to finish second behind France (42.92s, SB) and secure their trip to Beijing. The men’s 4x100m team, on the other hand, did not qualify after finishing third in their repechage heat. Favour Ashe, James Emmanuel, Tejiri Godwin, and Chidera Ezeakor, the current National Sports Festival champion, finished behind Belgium and Jamaica with a time of 38.50 seconds.
In a similar thrilling finish, the men’s 4x400m team finished in 3:01.43, only milliseconds behind Senegal and Spain for a qualifying berth.
Emmanuel Ojeli gave Nigeria the lead in the second leg with a quicker time of 45.06 seconds, while Gafar Badmus ran a strong first leg of 45.83 seconds. On the third leg, Victor Ime kept up the pace with a split of 45.47 seconds, while Ezekiel Asuquo finished in 45.07 seconds, but it was insufficient to qualify.
Nigeria has three spots for the 2027 World Championships because their female counterparts did not start in the women’s 4x400m repechage.
The mixed 4x100m relay team qualified for the first-ever World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which will take place in Budapest in September, despite the disappointments on the last day. They finished in the top six in the final, which was won by Jamaica in a world record time of 39.62s.
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