Nigeria sets mixed 4x100m African record of 40.24s

Nigeria's mixed 4x100m relay team set a new African record of 40.24 seconds on Saturday at the World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, finishing fourth in their heat to secure a spot in Sunday's final and qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing.

The quartet of Favour Ashe, Jennifer Chukwuka, Chidera Ezeakor and Maria Omokwe competed in Heat 1 against a strong field that included Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. Canada won the heat in 40.07 seconds, a time initially recognized as a world record before Jamaica surpassed it later with 39.99 seconds in Heat 3. Germany placed second in 40.15 seconds and the Netherlands third in 40.20 seconds. Nigeria advanced as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers across the six heats, alongside the top two teams from each.

The performance marked Nigeria's only automatic progression to the final at the two-day event, where 24 nations competed across six relay disciplines for spots at major championships. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria attributed the mixed results in other events to inexperience and last-minute withdrawals. Three key athletes, Rosemary Chukwuma, Blessing Ogundiran and Anita...