Oregon 2022: Team Nigeria finished sixth in mixed-relay, Ekevwo, Ashe in 100m semi-final 

It was contrasting fortunes for Team Nigeria on Friday the opening day of the Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championships.

The quartet of Samson Nathaniel, Imaobong Nse Uko, Dubem Amene and Patience Okon George could only manage to place sixth in the final of the 4x400 mixed relay.

With a stunning surge on the final straight of the anchor leg, the Dominican Republic grabbed the gold medal in the event and denied the US a home victory in Allyson Felix’s final race on the global stage.

In the final event of the evening at Hayward Field, Fiordaliza Cofil made up a big deficit to overtake US anchor runner Kennedy Simon in the last 50 metres and secure the mixed 4x400m title for the Dominican Republic in 3:09.82 - the second-fastest time in history.

“We are a small country, but we have a big heart,” said the Dominican Republic’s lead leg runner Lidio Feliz.

It was the third gold medal in World Championships history for the Dominican Republic, a nation of just 10.8 million people. The previous two were won by 400m runner Felix Sanchez.

Helping the team to bronze, Felix – already the most decorated athlete in World Championships history – achieved her 19th medal in her 10th and final championship. She finishes her career with 13 gold, three silver and three bronze.

“It was very special to be able to run in front of a home crowd for my last race,” the 36-year-old Felix said. “It was so cool. My daughter was in the stands. It was a night I will cherish. I’ve had such good memories. I know it is time and these guys will carry it on into the future. I am peace stepping into this next stage and have tremendous gratitude for this sport.”

Earlier on, Japan swept the top two places in the men’s 20km race walk as defending champion Toshikazu Yamanishi retained his title ahead of Koki Ikeda, with Sweden’s Perseus Karlstrom taking third.

In a race contested on a one-kilometre loop on Martin Luther King Boulevard, Yamanishi – the 26-year-old Olympic bronze medallist – went to the front from the start and led a breakaway group including Ikeda, Karlstrom and Kenya’s Samuel Gathimba.

The two Japanese athletes surged away from the group after the 17km mark, racing shoulder to shoulder before Yamanishi broke away on his own on the final loop to take command. He posted a devastating 3:40 final kilometre on the 20th and final circuit. Pumping his right fist with about 100m to go, he crossed the line in 1:19.14. Ikeda, silver medallist at last year’s Tokyo Olympics, finished in 1:19.14, while Karlstrom clocked 1:19.18.

In the men 100m, Team Nigeria Raymond Ekevwo and Favour Ashe both qualified for Saturday's semi-final. If they can overhaul their co-sprinters in their highly competitive heats, they will compete in the final slated for Saturday evening.

In the mens 100m heats, US champion Fred Kerley, the fastest man this year, underlined his status as the man to beat in the 100m by winning his heat in 9.79 – the fastest time ever run in a 100m heat at a major championship. And he made it look easy, running a smooth, controlled race.

In the very next heat, US teammate Trayvon Bromell won easily in 9.89. Before crossing the line, he glanced to his right and held up two fingers in a victory gesture.

Jamaica’s Oblique Seville had the day’s third-fastest time, winning his heat in 9.93 ahead of Olympic champion Marcell Jacobs. The Italian, who has been hindered by injuries all outdoor season, equalled his season’s best 10.04.

“I struggled in the race,” Jacobs said. “I am not at 100%. I gave everything I had. I will go to a physio to be ready for tomorrow.”

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana captured the fifth heat in 9.94, a world U20 record. “The time is maybe something surprising but I knew I was well prepared,” the 19-year-old said. “The main target is maybe the final. But that doesn’t mean I cannot go into the top three.”

In other qualifying events:

Grace Nwokocha has been drawn to run in the same heat with reigning Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah.

The duo will go head-to-head in heat three of the first round of the women’s 100m event which starts on Saturday at the Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA as the 18th World Athletics Championships enter day two.

Nwokocha will be seeking to finish in the top three in the event to secure automatic qualification for the semifinals.

The two other Nigerians who made the standard to compete in the event, Favour Ofili and Rosemary Chukwuma are not registered for the race.

Ofili has opted to concentrate on the 200m despite holding a 10.93 seconds best in the blue ribband event.

The 19-year-old feels she has a better chance of making the podium in the 200m event where she is one of only seven women who have broken 22 seconds so far this year.