Amusan Leads Nigeria’s Charge as World Athletics Ultimate Championships Begin in Budapest
Nigeria’s medal campaign at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships gets underway in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday, with Tobi Amusan and Ella Onojuvwevwo leading the country’s charge on the opening night.
The championship will begin with the mixed 4x100m relay, which will also serve as the first medal event of the competition. Nigeria will then feature in the women’s 100m hurdles and 400m.
Nigeria’s mixed 4x100m relay quartet is set to face Hungary, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Germany and the United States in the battle for the championship’s first medal.
Amusan is listed among Nigeria’s mixed relay athletes, alongside Alaba Akintola, Favour Ashe, Miracle Ezechukwu, Udodi Onwuzurike and Rosemary Nwankwo.
However, Nigeria’s relay plans have suffered a setback after Nwankwo and Ezechukwu were denied visas for the championships.
Their absence could see Amusan and Onojuvwevwo join Favour Ashe and Kanyinsola Ajayi in the mixed relay.
FIRST ZEALMEDIACAST BLOG gathered that the scheduling of the mixed 4x100m relay and the women’s 400m could force Nigeria to withdraw from the relay because of the tight turnaround between events.
In the individual events, Amusan headlines Nigeria’s opening-night hopes in the women’s 100m hurdles semi-finals, with a place in the final at stake.
The former world champion will be expected to lead Nigeria’s medal charge as she continues her quest for another major international title.
Onojuvwevwo will also begin her campaign in Budapest in the women’s 400m semi-finals as she targets a place in the medal race.
The women’s 100m hurdles final is scheduled for just one hour and 16 minutes after the semi-finals, potentially creating a demanding schedule for Amusan.
Nigeria will have more medal opportunities on Saturday when Kanyinsola Ajayi competes in the second semi-final of the men’s 100m.
Ajayi faces a strong field that includes Olympic champion Lamont Marcell Jacobs, South Africa’s Akani Simbine, USA’s Kenneth Bednarek, Cameroon’s African champion Emmanuel Eseme and Ackeem Blake.
Colombia’s Ronal Longa and American Ronnie Baker complete the line-up.
On Sunday, Udodi Onwuzurike will return to action in the men’s 200m, where Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo and Bednarek are among the leading contenders standing in his way of a place in the final.
African record-holder Ezekiel Nathaniel will complete Nigeria’s individual campaign on the final day when he competes in the men’s 400m hurdles.
With several of Nigeria’s leading athletes converging on Budapest, the country will hope its star-studded contingent can turn their individual credentials into medals at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships.
