Usheoritse Itsekiri and Maria Thompson-Omokwe were the athletes to beat on Day 1 of the 2017 Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) All-Comers event, at the National Stadium, Abuja.
Both athletes were in top form as they dominated the 100m events in the male and female category respectively.
For Itsekiri, the race was not at all a walk in the park, as the athlete had to pull a herculean move to claim the well-deserved win by one-hundredth of a second.
The 2017 National U-20 Junior Champion was pit against the likes of 2016 National 200m Champion, Emmanuel Arowolo, and MOC‘s Jerry Jakpa in a thrilling 100m event that saw Jakpa give Itsekiri a huge run for his money at every turn.
Arowolo’s performance in the race was quite unexpected seeing as the 200m champion could not even make it to the top four.
A second more and Jakpa would have probably taken the lead. However, Itsekiri would not have that. The U-20 champion crossed the finish line in 10.52s, one-hundredth of a second ahead of Jakpa who was trailing too close for Itsekiri’s comfort. Next across the finish line was Chukwudi Olisakwe, with a time of 10.73s, while Peter Edwin placed fourth in 10.80s
In the women’s 100m final, Thompson-Omokwe was in a class of her own as she clearly dominated her race with ease.
She crossed the finish line to claim the women’s 100m title in 11.80s. Rosemary Chukwuma finished in second, with a time of 11.85s, while Grace Ayemoba placed third in 12.10s.
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