Recap of the best performances by Nigerian athletes last week.
The past week was good for Nigerian athletes in the NCAA and the professional athletes competing in Europe.
Some performances stood out in terms of breaking records, recording new lifetime bests, and maintaining their good form since making their season's debut.
Based on the reasons stated above, here are Nigerian athletes' best five performers last week.
Udodi Onwuzurike
In his first collegiate indoor 200m race at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invite, Udodi Onwuzuruike sped to a brilliant Personal Best (PB) of 20.61s, shattering a 26-year-old School Record (SR) by 0.56s.
The Stanford University sophomore student has now broken SRs nine times and currently holds four SRs in the indoor 60m and 200m, plus outdoor 100m and 200m, making him the best sprinter in the school's history.
Usheoritse Itsekiri
A graduate student at the University of Regina in Canada, Itsikiri has remained unbeaten since his move to the North American country over a year ago.
Last week at the Bison Classic, he stormed to a new PB and SR of 6.62s to win the 60m final - the time makes him the third-fastest Nigerian in the event this season
He has been in blazing form this season, matching or erasing his SRs whenever he competed.
Bashiru Abdullahi
University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) graduate student Bashiru Abdullahi equalled his 60m Hurdles SR with a brilliant winning time of 7.77s at the Scarlet Knights Open on Saturday.
The 2022 C-USA champion in the 60mH and 100mH has been in great form this season and will hope to defend his C-USA Indoor Championships successfully this year.
Ella Onojuvwevwo
Louisiana State University's (LSU) freshman quarter-miler, Onojuvwewo, obliterated her 400m PB by almost a second, winning the event at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic last weekend.
The teenager clocked a brilliant time of 52.61s, which shattered her previous PB of 53.57s. Her time propelled her to the eighth fastest in LSU history and strengthened her position as the Nigerian leading time this season.
Abdulhakeem Yunus and Deborah Pam
Yunus and Pam emerged as the winners of the local marathoners at the 2023 Access Bank Lagos City Marathon.
Yunus won the men's category with a time of 2:27:15, while Pam won the women’s race, showing why she remains the best Nigerian female marathoner, as she crossed the finish line in a time of 2:48:33.