GABORONE: Nigeria’s mixed 4x400m relay team narrowly missed out on a place in the final at the World Athletics Relays after finishing third in their heat.
Competing at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone, the Nigerian quartet of Samson Nathaniel, Taiwo Kudoro, Chidi Okezie, and Patience Okon-George clocked a season’s best time of 3:13.12 in Heat 2.
Jamaica won the race in 3:11.68, while Poland secured second place with 3:13.00, taking the two automatic qualifying spots for the final. Nigeria’s time left them just outside the qualification bracket, as only the top two teams in each heat and the next fastest teams overall progressed.
The race remained closely contested throughout, with Nigeria still in contention heading into the final leg. Okon-George delivered a strong anchor run, battling Poland’s Natalia Bukowiecka down the home straight before settling for third place.
Japan finished fourth in 3:13.61, while Canada placed fifth in 3:14.93, highlighting the highly competitive nature of the heat
Despite the setback, Nigeria will have another opportunity to qualify through the repechage round scheduled for Sunday. A strong performance there could still secure a place at the 2027 World Championships in Beijing.
Across the heats, leading teams including Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States, Kenya, Spain, Australia, Italy, along with Jamaica and Poland, advanced to the final.
Notably, Kenya stood out as the only African team to reach the final, setting a new continental record of 3:09.87.
With the top six teams in Gaborone also qualifying for the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest later this year, Nigeria’s failure to reach the final means they must now rely on the repechage to keep their qualification hopes alive.
Attention now turns to the decisive second chance race, where the Nigerian team will need an improved performance to stay in contention on the global stage.
