Miracle Ezechukwu and Fervent Edet delivered standout performances, emerging top athletes who completed sprint double in both 100m and 200m events at the just concluded MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays held in New Jos Stadium.
N-Youth Sports’ Ezechukwu completed a sprint double in the Junior women’s category winning both the 100m in 11.26 seconds and claim the 200m title in a personal best of 22.91 seconds, successfully defending her crown.
The time places her among the leading performers in Africa this year and marks the first sub-23-second 200m run by a Nigerian on home soil since 2021.
Her teammate, Rosemary Nwankwo, finished second in a personal best of 23.17 seconds, while Team MTN’s Lucy Nwankwo placed third with 23.76 seconds, also a career-best performance.
In the Junior men’s 200m, Team MTN’s Michael Aniche secured victory with a personal best of 21.84 seconds, finishing ahead of teammate Emmanuel Akolo. Mahamat Sani placed third in 22.19 seconds.
Toheebat Jimoh won the women’s 200m title in a personal best of 24.35 seconds, narrowly edging teammate Miracle Uwem Donald, who finished in 24.36 seconds. Esther Okon came third in 24.63 seconds.
The men’s 200m final produced an upset as Enoch Dabo claimed victory in 21.69 seconds, ahead of Team MTN’s Ezekiel Asuquo (21.78 seconds) and Showers Ushie (21.82 seconds).
In the Youth Girls’ 200m, Bernice Onoriode won in 24.79 seconds, finishing ahead of Team BPS’ Rebecca Enilolobo (24.91 seconds) and Team MTN’s Chizoba Onyemauwa (26.47 seconds). Onoriode also went on to win the long jump event in the same category.
Team MTN’s Fervent Edet completed a sprint double in the Youth Boys’ category, winning the 200m in a personal best of 22.32 seconds ahead of Joshua Okon and Zikirullah Ibrahim.
In the Cadet Boys’ 200m, Praise Babatunde finished first in 26.03 seconds, ahead of Kyspan Bitrus (26.92 seconds) and Hamisu Muhammad (27.27 seconds).
Esther Adebayo won the Cadet Girls’ title in 28.36 seconds, with Salama Hata (28.76 seconds) and Chinaza Okoye (28.83 seconds) finishing second and third respectively.
The relay events concluded the competition. GSS Sabon Tasha won the Cadet Girls’ 4x100m in 57.81 seconds, ahead of Model Learning Zaria (58.35 seconds) and St. John (58.88 seconds).
Sabon Tasha Government also claimed victory in the Youth Girls’ 4x100m in 52.15 seconds, while GSS Sabon Tasha completed a double in the Youth Boys’ 4x100m, winning in 46.34 seconds.
The Junior mixed 4x100m relay brought the event to a close, with Team MTN dominating the podium as Team MTN A won in 44.64 seconds, followed by Team MTN B (46.17 seconds) and Team MTN C (47.12 seconds).