MTN CHAMPS: Athletes shine on Continental Relays Day 1

Day one of the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays witnessed spectacular performances across various categories as athletes posted impressive times in the 100m and 400m events at both the Yabatech and UNILAG Sports Complexes in Lagos, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The opening day was highlighted by numerous personal bests, with two-time Olympian Emmanuel Ojeli breaking his three-year-old personal record in the men’s 100m semifinal, clocking an impressive 10.24s. Emmanuel Babalola finished a distant second with 10.55s, while Ganiu Hassan took third place in 10.63s.

Fresh from his exploits at the Niger Delta Sports Festival, Favour Ashe dominated his heat with a wind-assisted 10.14s, outpacing ThankGod Igube who recorded 10.23s. In another semifinal race, Chidera Ezeakor cruised to victory with a time of 10.43s, finishing ahead of Oriyomi Akala who posted 10.56s.

The women’s 100m event saw Iyanu Bada in scintillating form, improving on her preliminary round personal best of 11.48s to stop the clock at an even more impressive 11.38s in the semifinals. Janet Adesiyan and Favour Odiyeye completed the heat with times of 11.88s and 11.97s respectively.

In the junior categories, John Caleb continued his fine form in the men’s 100m semifinals, bettering his personal best with a solid 10.38s to emerge as the fastest qualifier in his division. Qudus Akintoye followed with 10.59s, while Abdulrahman Jimoh rounded off the top three times with 10.61s.

Team MTN’s Lucy Nwankwo stole the show in the junior women’s 100m, posting the fastest time across all semifinals with a personal best of 12.07s. Her teammate Azeezat Muhammed-Raji secured the second-fastest time overall, winning her heat in 12.20s, while Ojone Akubo-Adegbe placed third with 12.47s.

The 400m events also produced standout performances, with Samson Nathaniel emerging as the fastest qualifier in the men’s category after recording a season’s best of 46.20s. Benjamin Magaji finished second overall with a time of 48.28s.

Two-time Olympian Patience Okon George marked her season debut in the women’s 400m with a commendable 53.19s, while Miracle Donald-Uwem set a new personal best of 54.59s to win her heat and claim the second-fastest time overall.

The Continental Relays continue today with finals in both individual events and relay races, as athletes aim to secure medals and points for their respective schools and teams.