July 24, (THEWILL) – After thirty years, the Nigerian quartet of Joy Udo-Gabriel, Favour Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Grace Nwokocha, broke the Women’s 4x100m African Record on Sunday morning, during the event’s final at the ongoing World Championships in Oregon.
They recorded a time of 42.22 seconds to smash the previous national/African record of 42.39s, which was set by compatriots, Christy Opara-Thompson, Faith Idehen, Beatrice Utondu, and Mary Onyali, at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, when Nigeria won the bronze medal.
With a skillfully handled first leg race, Udo-Gabriel, whose decision to join the team had been questioned by some, silenced her detractors for the umpteenth time before handing off to Ofili, who kept the momentum going. The third leg was then Chukwuma’s turn, and she handled it beautifully before sending it off to Nwokocha, who finished off magnificently.
Unfortunately, despite setting a new record, the Nigerian women still missed the podium as they came in fourth place behind the United States, who took first place with a fast time of 41.14 seconds. Jamaica and Germany finished second and third respectively.
Sunday was the first time in 11 years that the Nigeria women’s relay team participated in the final of the World Championships.
