From sprints to throws, Nigerian athletes reached new heights at the Florida Relays, with personal bests falling and bold statements made with strong season openers across the board.
Read Also: Adaobi Breaks Barriers with Sub-13s Finish in 100m Hurdles at Florida Relays
Alaba Akintola kicked off the competition in style, blazing down the straight in the men’s 100m with an impressive 10.11s (+2.1) to finish second behind Canada’s Jerome Blake, who took the win in 10.00s flat.
A day earlier, Akintola had hinted at his form with a 20.77s run into a headwind in the 200m, promising a powerful season ahead.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Adaobi Tabugbo of the University of Central Florida crossed a personal threshold. With determination, she broke the 13-second barrier for the first time in her career, clocking 12.93s (+2.1) to place third in a competitive final, despite the wind being slightly over the legal limit.
Although the event was won by Habiba Harris of Florida in 12.69s, Adaobi’s time signals she’s edging closer to achieving a legal benchmark.
The spotlight shifted to Chioma Nwachukwu, a freshman at the University of Iowa, in the women’s 400m.
She shattered expectations with a massive personal best of 51.44s, finishing second in a blazing race. Prior to this, she had never dipped under 53 seconds outdoors, making her performance a standout moment for Team Nigeria.
Opeyemi Deborah Oke followed closely, clocking a season’s best of 52.53s to place third in the race and sixth overall. Joy Nwokike and Osarentin Usenbor also set new personal bests, running 52.90s and 53.00s, respectively.
In the field events, Vincent Ugwoke dominated the men’s discus with a monster throw of 61.00m in the second round.
This mark secured him victory and made him the only athlete to breach the 60-meter line in the competition. Ugwoke outdistanced Auburn’s Seth Allen (59.30m) and Miami’s Desmond Coleman (57.77m), stamping his authority on the event.
