Nigeria’s 4x100m relay team ran a time of 38.41 seconds on Wednesday to win gold in the final of the men’s event at the African Games in Ghana.
The quartet of Sunday Israel Okon, Consider Ekanem, Alaba Akintola and Usheoritse Itsekiri stormed to victory to win gold.
They defeated Ghanaian team which had to settle for second in a time of 38.43 seconds.
Liberia won a bronze medal by claiming third in a time of 38.73 seconds.
Nigeria’s 4x100m Relay team also won the gold medal at the African Games.
Also, Esther Elo Joseph won silver in the 400m race in Ghana as she ran a time of 51.64 seconds to claim silver. The time is also her personal best so far.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Chidi Okezie ran a time of 45.06 seconds to win gold medal in 400 metres final at the ongoing African Games in Ghana.
His time of 45.06 seconds is the fastest by a Nigerian athlete in nine years. The time was also his personal best.
Okezie defeated one of the world’s fastest men in 400 metres, Muzala Samukonga of Zambia to win the gold.
Samukonga ran a time of 45.37 seconds to win the silver medal while Diouf Cheick Tidiane of Senegal came third in a time of 45.49 seconds.
Okezie, born August 8, 1993 is a US-born sprinter of Nigerian and Jamaican descent. Okezie is competing internationally for Nigeria. He is a two-time African Championships bronze medalist in the 400 metres.
Okezie was part of the American 4 × 400m relay team that won a gold medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Barcelona.
He represented Nigeria at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and reached the semifinals of the 400m. He also ran the anchor leg for the country in the 4 x 400 metres relay heats. The team finished second but were eventually disqualified for a lane infringement.
The 2018 African Championships were a success for Okezie. He won an individual bronze medal in the 400 metres behind Baboloki Thebe and Thapelo Phora.
This made him a two-time African Championships bronze medalist as he had won a bronze medal at the 2016 Championships in Durban.
He later anchored the Nigerian 4 x 400m relay team to a bronze medal behind Kenya and South Africa. Okezie was also a member of the African quartet that placed second in the mixed 4 x 400m relay at the 2018 IAAF Continental Cup.
