According to a provisional entry list released by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), nine athletes will represent Nigeria in the World Indoor Championships which is scheduled to run from the 1st till the 4th of March in Birmingham.
The nine-man list comprises of a dominant number of females (seven) compared to the number of males who made the cut (two).
For the men, U.S.-based Chukwuebuka Enekwechi will compete in the men’s shot put event while fellow U.S.-based athlete Chidi Okezie, is in for the men’s 400m race.
In the 400m women category, three-time Nigerian Champion, Patience Okon-George will be in action for Nigeria. Patience Okon-George has a season-best record of 51.40s, this record is ranked No.1 in the world (outdoor) in 2018.
For the 60m hurdles, Oluwatobiloba Amusan will be competing for Nigeria. Amusan set a Personal Best and Season-best record of 7.89s earlier this season. Ranked 8th in the world, Amusan will be joined in the competition by 2015 African Games 100m Hurdles Bronze medalist – Lindsay Lindley. However, Linsday is not in the 37-man list recently released by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.
In the 4x400m Women’s relay event, Regina George, Glory Nathaniel, Yinka Ajayi and Emerald Egwim will be in action, as they try to put Nigeria’s flag in the highest-hoist position.
In addition to playing the country’s national anthem at the at the 17th IAAF World Indoor Championships Birmingham 2018, there is a prize money of N888,272,000 (US$2,464,000) from the IAAF, and N18,025,000 (US$50,000) bonus for any athlete who sets a World Record during the four-day event.
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Athletics Africa
