Budapest 2023: Not a great start for Team Nigeria as 4X400m mixed relay, Enekwechi crash out.
Budapest 2023: Not a great start for Team Nigeria as 4X400m mixed relay, Enekwechi out
It’s not good tiding for Nigerians on the opening day of the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships as the Team Nigeria quartet of Dubem Nwachukwu, Patience Okon George, Ezekiel Nathaniel, and Imaobong Nse Uko failed to qualify for the final of the 4x400m mixed relay slated for Saturday evening.
Running in from lane nine in Heat 2, the quartet finished 7th in a new season’s best of 3:14.38. the Netherlands won their heat, France second, the Czech Republic third, Germany fourth, Jamaica fifth,
and Switzerland sixth.
Team Nigeria was 12th overall. The first three in each heat and the two fastest losers qualified for the final.
USA with a Nigerian Rosey Effiong among their quartet emerged the overall winner in a world-leading time of 3:10.41.
Great Britain who also has a Nigerian Yemi Mary John in their team are second with a new national record of 3:11.19 second.
Belgium came third in a season’s best 3:11.81; Netherlands was fourth 3:12.12, a new season’s best. France a new national record 3:12.25 to place fifth. Czech Republic placed sixth in 3:12.52, Germany seventh in 3:13.25, a new season’s best, and Ireland finished eighth also in a season-best of 3:13.90. They all qualified for the final slated for Saturday evening.
While the news on the track is not palatable, news from the field is equally not good as our medal hope in the men's shot put Chukwuebuka Enekwechi narrowly lost a place in the final to Italian Leonardo Fabbri.
Our Boy threw 20. 68m, while Fabbri the last qualifier for the final threw 20.74 to qualify. Brazil’s Darlan Romani won in 22.37 a season’s best. Italy's Zane Weir second in 21.82, New Zealand Tom Walsh third in 21.73, American Joe Kovacs fourth in 21.59, Another America Payton Otterdahl was fifth in 21.54, Jacko Gill from News Zealand sixth in 21.49, yet another American Ryan Crouser was seventh in 21.48, Croatia Filip Mihaljevic finished eighth 21.10, ninth was Serbian Armin Sinancevic in 20.92, Jamaica Rajindra Campbell was teeth in 20.83 and Egyptian Mostafa Hassan 11th in 20.81.
Meanwhile, Spain's Álvaro Martin won the first gold medal of the champion in the 20 kilometers in a world-leading time of 1:17:32, Sweden's Perseus Karlstrom won the silver in a new Swedish record 1:17:39 and Brazil's Caio Bonfim won the bronze medal also in a new national record of 1:17:47.
