Team Nigeria win women’s 4x400m, miss Olympics ticket

Nigeria failed to select their lone relay spot for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, even though they won gold and placed well ahead of the field in the women's 4x400m final at the Africa Senior Athletics Championship in Cameroon. The Olympics will take place from July 26 to August 11.

In the women's 4x400-meter final on Wednesday, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Patience Okon-George, Esther Elo Joseph, and Omolara Ogunmakinju easily won with a time of 3:27.31, but it was insufficient to secure their trip to Paris.

Nigeria had to finish faster than 3:26.08 in order to defeat Cuba and earn a spot in the Olympics. Nevertheless, they overcame Zambia and Botswana, who came in second and third, respectively, to earn the gold.

Nigeria barely missed out on qualifying for the women's 4x100m relay after punching the other four tickets during the World Relays in the Bahamas in May.

Some competitors, including Patience Okon-George, had visa problems that prevented them from travelling to the Bahamas, and Omolara Ogunmakinju, the incredible anchor leg of the 2023 African Games, was injured.

There are only three days left in the qualifying window, so it appears that the quartet's chances of going to Paris have diminished. Onojuvwevwo, Okon-George, Joseph, and Ogunmakinju were devastated following the final even though they had won gold.

The men's foursome from the African Championships, consisting of Emmanuel Ojeli, Sikiru Adeyemi, Dubem Nwachukwu, and Samuel Ogazi, again failed to place on the podium, coming in fourth place in 3:02.93 behind Kenya, Zambia, and Botswana.