Miracle Ezechukwu has solidified her reputation as Nigeria’s premier young sprinter by successfully defending her Junior 100m crown at the MTN CHAMPS Continental Relays. Competing on the second day of the event at the New Jos Stadium in Plateau State, the N-Youth Sports standout delivered a historic performance that culminated in a new national U-20 record.
Ezechukwu secured the gold medal in the final with a time of 11.42 seconds. However, her most remarkable feat occurred during the semifinals, where she registered a personal best of 11.26s. This blistering time serves as a new MTN CHAMPS U-20 benchmark, marks the fastest time recorded by a Nigerian woman this season, and elevates her to a joint-fifth position on the country’s all-time U-20 rankings.
The podium was completed by Team MTN athletes, with Lucy Nwankwo taking silver in 11.65s and Rosemary Nwankwo claiming bronze in 11.78s. Both runners showed exceptional form in the earlier rounds; Lucy’s semifinal time of 11.52s earned her qualification for the World U-20 Championships, while Rosemary’s 11.44s mark stood as her career-best under any conditions.
In the Junior Men’s division, Emmanuel Akolo of Team MTN emerged victorious despite competing above his age bracket. The youth-eligible sprinter clocked a wind-aided 10.63s to secure gold, marking his fastest competitive time to date. He was followed by his MoC Athletics Academy counterparts, Reuben Destiny (10.74s) and Alvin Onyeama (10.76s), who finished second and third respectively.
The women’s 100m featured a standout performance by Toheebat Jimoh of Team MTN, who achieved a personal best of 12.03s to win the event. Jimoh also demonstrated her range by securing a silver medal in the 400m with a season-best time of 53.88s. The 100m minor places went to Ojone Akubo-Adegbe and Chidera Ajeroh.
The senior men’s 100m was defined by the dominance of Okechukwu Ezeh. After setting a personal best of 10.47s in the semifinals, Ezeh maintained his momentum to win the final in 10.61s, finishing ahead of Aina Precious (10.70s) and Enoch Dabo (10.76s).
In the Youth Boys’ category, Fervent Edet showed significant progression by converting his previous silver from the Calabar leg into a gold medal in Jos. Edet remained unbeaten across all rounds, eventually winning the final in 11.15s, while Shabi Weynom and Matthew Ngowu took the silver and bronze. Meanwhile, the Youth Girls’ 100m title was captured by Team Beacon Power Services’ Rebecca Enilolobo, who outpaced Rofiat Bakare and Josephine Onyemauche to claim the top spot.
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