Marrakech ’14 Day 4 RECAP: Tosin Oke settles for Silver in Triple Jump as Oduduru, Asumnu reach 200m finals!

13 Aug

Five-time national triple jump champion, Tosin Oke had to make do with Silver for the second time in as many weeks as he was beaten to gold by South Africa’s Godfrey Mokoena on Wednesday at the African Athletics Championships in Marrakech.

Oke, the defending champion, had won the title back to back (in Kenya four years ago and the last edition in Port Novo in 2012), but could not out-leap Mokoena who won gold with 17.03m which he secured in his very first jump of the evening. Oke made a leap of 16.96m in his second attempt and improved on it by 1cm in his very last attempt, which is his Season’s Best (SB).

The duo met in Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games less than a fortnight ago where the South African also stripped his Nigerian counterpart of his Commonwealth title with a distance of 17.20m, while Oke followed in second position in 16.84m. Thankfully though, he will still get to compete at the IAAF Continental Cup slated to hold between September 13 and 14 in Marrakech. His team mate and Nigeria’s No.2, Olu Olamigoke finished in sixth position with 16.18m. He narrowly missed out on a medal in Glasgow where he finished fourth with a distance of 16.56m.

Nigeria’s best prospect for a medal in the men’s 200m, Divine Oduduru qualified for the final of the men’s 200m, having finished second in the semi-finals and first in the heats ahead of Cote d’Ivoire’s Wilfried Koffi Hua. He has set up an explosive meeting with the Ivoirian who is the newly crowned African 100m Champion as well Africa’s No.1, Isaac Makwala who has returned 19.96s this season. Mark Jelks and Seye Ogunlewe also took part in the heats but pulled out of the semis for undisclosed reasons.

The trio of Gloria Asumnu, Dominique Duncan and Regina George all qualified for the women’s 200m final which promises to be a Nigeria versus Cote d’Ivoire final as double World Championships Silver Medallist and Africa’s No.2, Murielle Ahouré and Marie Ta Lou Gonezie will be aiming for the top two spots. Following the absence of Blessing Okagbare who pulled out of the 200m and would have been the major contender for gold, the focus will mostly be on houré who looks good for GOLD as she virtually jogged through the heats and semis. However her compatriot, Lou Gonezie looks in fine form to possibly deny Asumnu and the other Nigerians a medal spot, as she has the fastest time from the semis, 23.03s.

Amaka Ogoegbunam easily sailed through the heats in the 400m hurdles and has positioned herself for gold, wining her heat with 56.49s ahead of Morocco’s Hayat Lambarki who is a former African Champion. Her time was also the second fastest in the heats, though compatriot Kemi Francis wasn’t as lucky as she finished seventh in Heat 2 in 1:01.42. Abiye David placed third in her heat in 2:08.58, behind Kenya’s Eunice Sum and Ethiopia’s Lidiya Melese in the women’s 800m, which wasn’t good enough to see her through to the final.

Nigeria moved one place down on the medals table as South Africa regained the top position with eight gold, five silver and two bronze medals. Nigeria follows with seven gold, six silver and five bronze medals while Kenya is third with two gold gold, one silver and five bronze medals.

On Thursday which is the final day of competition, Nigeria will compete in the women’s shot put, women’s triple jump, women’s 400m hurdles, men and women’s 200m and men and women’s 4x400m relays.

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Nigeria in African 110m Hurdles CLEAN SWEEP as Akins, Al-Ameen & Ogierakhi win GOLD, Silver & Bronze!

13 Aug

Nigeria’s 110m hurdlers made a clean sweep of the medals in the event on Wednesday night, leaving their Algerian, South African and Malian rivals trailing in their wake on Day Four of competition at the African Senior Championships in Marrakech, Morocco.

National champion, Tyron Akins confirmed his status as the athlete to beat as he claimed his first African title in his debut outing at the championships, and only his second for Nigeria, with 13.57s. This follows his participation at the Commonwealth games where he just missed out on the Finals. He came to Marrakech as No.3 on the African list for 2014 but upstaged the rest of the field to clinch the title. The last time Nigeria won the 110m hurdles was in 1996 when national record holder in the event, William Erese mounted the podium in Yaounde, Cameroun!

Another new Nigerian athlete, Alex Al-Ameen, who was Nigeria’s No.2 from the National Trials, won silver in 13.78s. He came to the championship as the continent’s 2nd fastest athlete this year, behind Algeria’s Lyes Mokddel who competed in the heats but didn’t show up for the final. Al-Ameen competed in the Commonwealth Games and put up an impressive performance to get to the final of the event where he finished in seventh.

The only home-based athlete amongst them and Nigeria’s No.3, Martins Ogierakhi clocked 13.80s to secure the bronze medal. Ogierakhi holds the top position on the home front as he won all legs of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Golden League and was one of the winners of the much anticipated N2million jackpot. He is also the winner of the last three editions for the National Sports Festival in Nigeria, which will be opened to foreign-based Nigerians for the very first time this year! He’ll have his hands full this time around with Akins and Al-Ameen in the mix!

Unfortunately, only Akins will fly Nigeria’s flag at the forthcoming IAAF Continental Cup, which incidentally holds in Marrakech, as only two athletes represent the continent in each event, and they cannot be from the same country!

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Super Tuesday in Marrakech as Nigeria grabs 5 GOLDS to top medals table after Day 3 of African Champs!

13 Aug

Tuesday was a busy evening for Athletics at the African Championships in Marrakech, as Team Nigeria went from winning 1 GOLD on Monday night (Blessing Okagbare in the 100 metres), to winning a whooping FIVE in one evening! This takes Nigeria straight to the top of the medal standings after 3 days, and the nation looks well on course to come close to equalling the 10 GOLD medal haul from the last championships in Benin in 2012!

MEDALS STANDINGS AFTER DAY 3
1. Nigeria 6 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze
2. South Africa 5 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze
3. Kenya 2 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze
4. Botswana 2 gold,
5. Ethiopia 1 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze

Indeed, it was medals galore on Tuesday, as it wasn’t just the GOLD that Nigeria won on the night – Okoro and Okwelogu made it a 1-2 in the Discus, Brume and Amadi made it a 1-2 in the Long Jump, while Abugan and Okon George finished 1st & 3rd in the 400 metres! Winning two GOLD medals in the men and women’s 4x100m relays was then simply the icing on the cake for Team Nigeria as the country overtook rivals South Africa, to get to the top of the medals table.

Reigning 100m African champion, Blessing Okagbare anchored the women’s team, comprising of Gloria Asumnu, Dominique Duncan and Lawreta Ozoh to gold in 43.56s, ahead of Cote d’Ivoire (43.99s), who didn’t have their star athlete, Murielle Ahouré in action, and Ghana followed in third with 44.06s. This follows Nigeria’s Silver winning effort at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where the team finished behind Jamaica who won the event with 41.83s, while Nigeria posted 42.93s.

The men’s 4x100m team, which comprised of Ogho-Oghene Egwero, Monzavous Edward, Obinna Metu and Mark Jelks, won their first medal of the season as they coasted to gold in 38.80s, thereby bringing an end to South Africa’s domination in the event. The South Africans, who were favourites for the title pulled out, thereby paving the way for Nigeria to reclaim its lost glory in the event. The medal serves as a consolation no doubt, after their seventh place finish in Glasgow. 

Ghana placed second in 39.28s, with Algeria coming third with a National Record (NR) of 39.89s, which elicited wide jubilation from the North Africans. Nigeria holds the AR in the 4x100m (37.94s) while their South African counterparts are owners of the CR (38.75).

In the men’s 400m hurdles, defending champion, Amaechi Morton lost his crown to South Africa’s Cornel Fredericks who is also the new Commonwealth Champion. However, he was consoled by the silver medal (48.92s), having been assured of a place at the forthcoming IAAF Continental Cup, while fellow Nigerian Miles Ukaoma finished in sixth with 50.40s.

Noah Akwu, Nigeria’s last man standing in the 400m, placed seventh in the final that was won by African record holder, Isaac Makwala of Botswana with a CR of 44.23s. Akwu had posted a Season’s Best (SB) of 45.86s in the semis but was unable to replicate the same form in the final as he finished with 46.40s.

The heats of the men’s 110 hurdles was dominated by Nigeria as Alex Al-Ameen won Heat 1 in 13.89s while compatriots Tyron Akins and Martins Ogierakhi finished in the top two spots in Heat 2 with 13.77s and 13.87s respectively. Akins had the fastest time in the final rankings, with Ogierakhi and Al-Ameen following closely. Nigeria can pull off a 1-2-3 in today’s final, barring any injury concerns, but have to watch out for Algeria’s duo of Othman Hadj Lazib and Lyes Mokddel who complete the Africa Top 5 list.

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Chinwe Okoro wins African Discus Title in Championship Record, Okwelogu gets Silver!

13 Aug

Nigeria’s Chinwe Okoro put up an outstanding performance in the women’s discus throw to win GOLD and defend her African Title from 2012 with a Personal Best (PB) and Championship Record (CR) of 59.79m on Day Three of competition at the ongoing African Athletics Championships in Marrakech.

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It was 1-2 for Nigeria as Nwanneka Okwelogu followed in second with 51.66m while Morocco’s Amina Elmouden placed third with 48.21m. Okoro came to the championship with a Season’s Best (SB) of 57.83m while her former PB was pegged at 58.25m.

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Going into the competition, Okoro was second in the continental top list, just behind Cote d’Ivoire’s Kazai Suzanne Kragbe who had an SB of 59.61m. However her throw in Marrakech has eclipsed that of the Ivoirian and Okoro says she looks forward to setting more records in the near future.

 “It was my best performance and my next goal is to realize the best record in coming competitions.”

It’s time for Chinwe to break into the ‘Over-60’ club in the Discus, and we wish her the best of luck in achieving that!

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Team Nigeria Guide to 2014 African Athletics Champs – DAY 4 (Wed Aug 13)

13 Aug

Here’s the full schedule of ALL Team Nigeria Athletes competing in DAY FOUR  (Wednesday August 13th) at the African Athletics Championships, Marrakech 2014. Unfortunately this is not being shown in Nigeria, as SuperSports only have the rights to show the European Championships, which is happening simultaneously…

Never mind – Follow Making of Champions’ LIVE TWEETS,  POSTS and INSTAGRAM throughout the day as we bring you all the Action LIVE & DIRECT from the Grand Stade de Marrakech – stay tuned! 

Women’s 200m Heats

9.36am: Heat 2 –Gloria Asumnu (NGR, No.2, Africa No.7)

9.42am: Heat 3 – Regina George (NGR) vs Murielle Ahoure (CIV, Africa No.2)

9.48am: Heat 4 – Dominique Duncan (NGR No.3, Africa No.3)

Men’s 200m Heats

10.16am: Heat 2 – Divine Oduduru (NGR No.1, Africa No.8) vs Wilfried Koffi Hua (CIV, Africa No.5)

10.34am: Heat 5 – Mark Jelks (NGR) vs Emmanuel Dassor (GHA, Africa No.12)

10.40am: Heat 6 – Seye Ogunlewe (NGR)

Women’s 400m Hurdles Heats

6.00pm: Heat 1 – Amaka Ogoegbunam (NGR No.1, Africa No.4) vs Hayat Lambarki (MAR, Africa No.2) and Anneri Ebersohn (RSA, Africa No.3)

6.07pm: Heat 2 – Kemi Francis (NGR) vs Wenda Theron Nel (RSA, Africa No.1)

200m Men semis (TBD)

6.30pm – Semifinal 1

6.35pm – Semifinal 2

6.40pm – Semifinal 3

200m Women semis (TBD)

6.45pm – Semifinal 1

6.50pm – Semifinal 2

Men’s Triple Jump

6.55pm: Final – Tosin Oke (NGR No.1, Africa No.2) and Olu Olamigoke (NGR No.2, Africa No.3) vs Khotso Mokoena (RSA, Africa No.1) and Elijah Kimitei (KEN, Africa No.4)

Men’s 110 Hurdles

7.25pm: Final – Tyron Akins (NGR No.2, Africa No.3), Alex Al-Ameen (NGR No.1, Africa No.2) and Martins Ogierakhi (NGR No.3, Africa No.5) vs

Lyes Mokddel (ALG, Africa No.1) and Othman Hadj Lazib (ALG, Africa No.4)

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Brume adds African Long Jump Title to Commonwealth Crown, Amadi takes Silver!

13 Aug

It was another 1-2 for Nigeria in the women’s long jump event as Ese Brume added the African crown to her list of titles with a jump of 6.50m, which was just 6cm shy of her golden jump at the Commowealth Games in Glasgow, while team mate and Nigeria’s No.2, Chinazom Amadi made a leap of 6.40m to finish in second position at the ongoing African Senior Athletics Championships in Marrakech. Earlier in the day, Nigeria recorded a top two finish in the women’s discus where Chinwe Okoro and Nwanneka Okwelogu dominated the event.

This latest addition is the fifth title the Delta State athlete has to her name at the moment, including the National Sports Festival crown (which brought her to limelight two years ago), the national title (which she won at the Nigerian Trials in June), African Juniors title (which she won in Mauritius last year), Commonwealth GOLD (in Glasgow earlier this month) and now the African GOLD Medallist! She is also the African junior record holder in the event!

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Chinazom Amadi also demonstrated extreme composure in pulling out a Season’s Best jump of 6.40m after initially going out to 6.17m, which would have seen her run out of the medals! She is a seasoned African Championships performer, having won Silver in Ethiopia in 2008 and Bronze in 2006 in Mauritius with jumps of 6.31m and 6.23m respectively! Her PB of 6.60m was set at the National Trials in Calabar in 2012.

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 Brume has demonstrated by this performance that her GOLD in Glasgow was no fluke, having emerged as the surprise winner in a field that comprised of more experienced jumpers including England’s Shara Proctor and a host of others. She has been consistent this season, save for the IAAF World Junior Championships where she finished at the bottom of her group in the qualifying round just a week before Glasgow. It is still difficult to pinpoint what went wrong in Oregon, although it was alleged that she arrived for the competition a day before her event, and perhaps was still exhausted by her sojourn.

Ese Brume has truly come of age – the jumping sensation has put that disappointment behind her, and has more than made up for the loss by commanding outstanding performances in subsequent events. The stage is now set for both Brume and Amadi to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best ahead of the IAAF Continental Cup slated to also hold in Marrakech next month!

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Abugan wins African 400m GOLD in PHOTO FINISH, Okon George takes Bronze!

13 Aug

True to prediction, Nigerian 400m Champion Folashade Abugan extended her domination across the continent as she emerged African Champion at the ongoing Senior Championships in Marrakech, Morocco, four years after settling for bronze at the 2010 Championships in Nairobi.

Zambia’s Kabange Mupopo had led the semis with 51.54s, as against Abugan’s 52.09s. However the Nigerian had the last laugh in the closely contested final, which she won with a photo finish as both athletes breasted the tape in 51.21s, which was a National Record (NR) for the Zambian and a replication of the Season’s Best (SB) Abugan ran in Calabar to dethrone Regina George as Nigerian champion. Nigeria’s No.2, Patience George Okon secured Bronze in 51.68s while the third Nigerian in the final, Ada Benjamin followed in fourth place with 52.59s, not being able to fully recover from a superb PB of 51.68s the day before!

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The absence of Africa’s No.1 and defending champion, Amantle Montsho, who has been provisionally suspended for failing a dope test immediately after the final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, no doubt went a long way in improving Nigeria’s chances for a medal sweep at the event, though it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that the country’s female quartermilers have been in good form this season, winning a bronze medal at the inaugural IAAF World Relays and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in the 4x400m.

Abugan was the only Nigerian who made it to the final of the women’s individual 400m race in Glasgow where she finished fifth just behind Montsho. She is however hopeful that her victory will serve as enough motivation for the IAAF Continental Cup which is slated to hold again in Marrakech next month.

“I am so happy to win because four years ago I won a bronze medal but this time around, I am the African champion”, she said.

“This season has been a great one for me as I became national champion, won a bronze at the IAAF World Relays and Silver at the Commonwealth Games. I am going to train harder ahead of the Continental Cup.”

Denby wins African 100m Hurdles Bronze, as another American Recruit, Weyinme finishes 4th!

12 Aug

Nigeria’s 100m Hurdles Champion Nichole Denby, who recently switched allegiance from Team USA, won a Bronze medal in the 100m Hurdles at the ongoing African Championships on Monday in a time of 13.27s, missing out on the GOLD medal by just a hundredth of a second! The surprise winner was South Africa’s Rikenette Steenkamp who took the day in 13.26s, with Cote d’Ivoire’s Rosvitha Okou Bodjiho coming a close second with the same time. Thus Denby’s quest for the African Title and to represent Africa at next month’s IAAF Continental Cup (only Africa’s top 2 qualify for the quadrennial competition) came to an agonising end.

Denby could not hide her disappointment at finishing in third place after looking so comfortable in the heats just a day earlier: “I’m not happy, I’m not happy. That was a really bad race for me. Really bad. I’m not sure what’s next now – I think only the Top 2 go to the Continental Cup…”

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She might take solace from winning her first medal for Team Nigeria, after tripping on the final hurdle to just miss out on a place the Commonwealth Games final just over a week ago. She will now have to look forward to the National Sports Festival in Calabar in November which she will now be favourite to win as she will compete for Delta State, since the Festival has now been made open to foreign-based Nigerians for the first time in its history!

In a surprising development, the championship threw up a new face, Lindsay Weyinme, whilst Nigerian fans had been expecting Ugonna Ndu to take to the track alongside Denby in the 100m hurdles heats on Sunday. Another American Recruit, Weyinme previously had not represented Nigeria (and was also not present at the National Trials in June) and virtually nothing is known of her, until now. She came through the heats in 13.39s, and followed that up with 4th in the final behind Denby in 13.43s.

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The press in the stadium caught up with Lindsay Weyinme after the Final to find out more about her!

A lot of people in Nigeria will be asking right now ‘Who is Lindsay Weyinme?’ Can you tell us a little about your background? Are your parents Nigerian?

I grew up in the United States, and I have an uncle who is Nigerian who helped me to decide to run for Nigeria. We started doing the paperwork and I wasn’t sure at first, but he helped to persuade me.

What about your heritage – do you have anyone in your lineage from Nigeria?

Yeah, it’s from my uncle who married in.

So where do you see your Nigeria career going from here?

I feel it can only get better. It’s been an up and down year for me in terms of injuries and my performance, so I’m just getting better next year for worlds 

And where are you based now?

In Pheonix Arizona.

Ok, all the best for the future and many thanks for your time!

Thank you.

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Team Nigeria Guide to 2014 African Athletics Champs – DAY 3 (Tues Aug 12)

12 Aug

Here’s the full schedule of ALL Team Nigeria Athletes competing in DAY THREE (Tuesday August 12th) at the African Athletics Championships, Marrakech 2014. Unfortunately this is not being shown in Nigeria, as SuperSports only have the rights to show the European Championships, which is happening simultaneously…

Never mind – Follow Making of Champions’  LIVE TWEETS,  POSTS and INSTAGRAM throughout the day as we bring you all the Action LIVE & DIRECT from the Grand Stade de Marrakech – stay tuned!

Men’s 110 Hurdles

6.15pm: Heat 1 – Alex Al-Ameen (NGR No.2, Africa No.2) vs Lyes Mokddel (RSA, Africa No.1)

6:22pm: Heat 2 – Tyron Akins (NGR No.1, Africa No.3) and Martins Ogierakhi (NGR No.3, Africa No.5) vs Othman Hadj Lazib (ALG, Africa No.4)

Women’s 400m

6.30pm: Final – Folashade Abugan (NGR No.1, Africa No.2)  Patience Okon George  (NGR No.2, Africa No.3) & Ada Benjamin (NGR, Africa No.9)

vs 

Kabange Mupopo (ZAM, Africa No.6) and Maureen Jelagat (KEN, Africa No.7)

Men’s 400m

6.40pm: Final – Noah Akwu (NGR No.2) vs Isaac Makwala (BOT, Africa No.1), Wayde Van Niekerk (RSA, Africa No.2), Pako Seribe (BOT, Africa No.3), and Boniface Mucheru (KEN, Africa No.4)

Men’s 400m Hurdles (NGR vs RSA!)

7.00pm: Final – Chris Morton (NGR No.1, Africa No.5) and Miles Ukaoma (NGR) vs

Cornel Fredericks (RSA, Africa No.1), L.J Van Zyl (RSA, Africa No.3)

Women’s Long Jump

7.25pm: Final – Ese Brume (NGR No.1, Africa No.2) and Chinazom Amadi (NGR No.2, Africa No.4)

Women’s 4x100m Relay

9.05pm: Final – Nigeria (Africa No.1) vs Ghana, Benin, Cameroun, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Kenya

Men’s 4x100m Relay

9.20pm: Final – Nigeria (Africa No.2) vs Angola, Seychelles, Kenya, Algeria, Ghana, Senegal and Cameroun (Africa No. 1 South Africa not on the start list!)

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‘Naijamericans’ Mark Jelks & Monzavous Edwards take African 100m Silver & Bronze!

12 Aug

In the men’s 100m final at the ongoing African Championships, Nigeria’s recently recruited National Champion Mark Jelks, who had looked like the African ‘Champion-Elect’ in the Heats and Semis, was denied the African title by Cote d’Ivoire’s Koffi Hua Wilfred, who won the race in a new Personal Best and National Record of 10.05s, while the Nigerian posted a Season’s Best (SB) of 10.07s to win Silver ahead of team mate, Monzavous Edwards who also clocked an SB of 10.16s for the Bronze. Nigeria’s No.3, Ogho-Oghene Egwero placed fifth in 10.28s, just behind defending champion and the continent’s fastest man in 2014, Simon Magakwe who finished outside the medal zone with 10.19s.

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Jelks was not immediately available for comments following the race, perhaps leaving quickly after expecting, but failing to capture the African crown. MAKING OF CHAMPIONS exclusively caught up with Monzavous Edwards later in the day, after he helped Nigeria reach the 4x100m final with the fastest time of 39.51s in the Heats, and he told us what his first medal in Green-White-Green means to him, in the face of the difficult reception he and the other American recruits have received in Nigeria since turning up for the National Trials in June:

“It means a lot to me because I was given a chance by a country when I was forgotten about by a lot of athletes, and by the coaches. So it means a lot to me because they gave me a chance. They gave me a shot.”

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A lot has been said in Nigeria since the new American recruits arrived. In fact, it has been the hot topic in Nigerian Athletics over the last two months, as the debate has raged on as to whether their presence will actually help or hinder the development of Athletics in Nigeria. Following the Commonwealth Games where they were collectively unable to win any individual medals, and where Jelks was the only one to contest a final, many have asked the question as to whether they would be good enough for medals at a higher level of competition, such as the World Championships or Olympics. 

At these African Championships, Jelks was highly favoured to win the title, as he was the in-form athlete in the field, coming in as the only African who made the 100m Commonwealth Final. But Cote d’Ivoire is not part of the Commonwealth, so Koffi Hua Wilfried came in to steal the show in Marrakech! And so, Nigeria’s wait for another African men’s 100m Champion since the mighty Olusoji Fasuba in 2008 continues (Fasuba is still the African Record Holder with 9.85s). Jelks will likely be disappointed with the outcome, but he will have another chance to go for GOLD when the 200 metres gets underway on Wednesday!

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