Ogun State delivered a relay masterclass to claim the first relay GOLD medal in Athletics at the National Sports Festival in Abeokuta. The quartet – Gafar Badmus, Tosin Oyindamola, Samson Nathaniel, and Toheebat Jimoh – stopped the clock in 3:20.65, winning in front of an electrified home crowd!
Badmus set the tone with a storming opening leg, pulling ahead of the pack and creating a sizeable gap, even against strong runners like Victor Sampson. Oyindamola maintained the lead smoothly on second leg, while Samson Nathaniel extended it even further before handing over to Jimoh, who anchored the team to the finish in 1st place.
Edo State took 2nd place in 3:23.41, nearly three seconds behind, while Lagos secured 3rd with a time of 3:24.36. Akwa Ibom finished a disappointing 4th in 3:27.61, undone by a botched baton exchange and a fall that cost them a podium finish.
Chidera Ezeakor of Edo State lit up the men’s 100m with one of the standout performances of day 1, storming to a new Personal Best of 10.22s (1.1) to win his race. Continuing his streak of PBs in 2025, Ezeakor was well ahead of his closest challengers—Joshua Diamond, who ran 10.50s, and Abdulgafar Abdulsalam with 10.55s.
Joachim Uyovwiyoma of Delta State posted the second fastest time overall, clocking 10.42s (1.3). Not far behind was Rivers State’s Taiwo James Emmanuel, based in South Africa, who cruised to a 10.43s win in his heat, holding off Bayelsa’s Augustine Ezuruike, who managed 10.61s.
To the delight of the Edo crowd, Enoch Adegoke produced a good race to take his heat in 10.44s, fending off a solid challenge from Lucky Daje, who came through in 10.47s. Ogun’s Caleb John also impressed, winning his race in 10.45s.
Favour Ashe, representing Delta State, barely needed to shift gears as he comfortably won his heat in 10.55s.
Other heat winners included Alvin Onyeama, who clocked a hand-timed 10.4h, Chibueze Osama in 10.52s, and Treasure Antigha with 10.60s.
Kate Odumoso of Delta State delivered the fastest performance across all five heats in the women’s 100m, claiming victory in her heat with a time of 11.52s, into a headwind of 1.1m/s. This is coming just two weeks after she ran a Personal Best (PB) of 11.36s at the Grand Finale of MTN Champs Season 3 in Uyo.
Following her in the same heat, Bayelsa’s Sofia Efetobore secured 2nd place with a time of 11.63s.
Another impressive performance came from Obi Jennifer Chukwuka, also representing Delta, who won heat 5 in a fiercely contested race against Iyanuoluwa Bada of Ogun State. Chukwuka clocked 11.54s, the second fastest time across all the heats, narrowly edging out Bada who finished in 11.56s.
Success Umukoro, who returned from her training base in Texas for the festival, made a strong impression by winning her heat in 11.58s, pulling away from the rest of the field.
Other winners in the preliminary rounds are Maria Thompson, who posted a time of 11.85s; Ufuoma Merit with 11.88s; Faith Osamuyi in 11.63s; and Janet Adesiyan, who ran 11.87s.
