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These athletes have done exceptionally well, right from their developmental stages till now and are ready to take over the world. Take note, Nigeria has got some speedsters for the future.
The year 2022 has been one of many highs for Athletics in Nigeria. The sport reached its climax, as athletes attained many exceptional feats for the first time in Nigeria athletics history.
The athletes responsible for these feats were a perfect blend of youth and experience, as they surpassed expectations in the bulk of championships they participated in, breaking records and exceeding their previous career achievements astonishingly.
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Some of these youngsters rose to the occasion when it mattered, showing with great signs that the future of the sport in the sprints is in great hands and only a matter of time before they will become world beaters.
Based on the 2022 performances of a few of these young speedsters, here are Pulse Sports editorial picks of The future stars of Nigeria Athletics sprints.
Tima Godbless
Tipped as the next big name in Nigerian female sprints, Godbless has grown in leaps and bounds since her senior international debut at the African Championships in Mauritius.
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There she clocked a brilliant Personal Best (PB) of 11.25s in the 100m semifinals and narrowly missed out on a podium finish by placing fourth in the final. Then in the 4x100m final, she returned to help the team win Gold - a record eleven women’s 4x100m titles for Nigeria in the championship history.
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Interestingly, her star performance of the year came at the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, where she sped her way to the history books running a National U20 Record (NU20R) of 11.09s in the 100m semifinals, thereby breaking Joan Ekah’s previous record of 11.11s that stood for 23-years.
Her achievement in Cali drew the attention of several US college scouts who wanted her on scholarship in their school, but she eventually chose Louisiana State University (LSU), where she will join Ella Onojuvwevwo with both on the roster for the 2023 season, and they will hope to build on the laid down success of Favour Ofili.
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After signing the letter of intent with LSU’s track and field program, the coach university coach, Dennis Shaver, was full of praises for the 18-year-old. “Tima is a great talent and someone who will immediately have an impact on our team. She has exceptional sprint performances for her young age,” he said.
Godbless closed her 2022 season on a dazzling note at the just concluded National Sports Festival in Asaba, where she won the sprints double titles, clocking 11.32s in the 100m and a PB of 23.07s in the 200m.
Alaba Akintola
One of the best things about the current set of the young sprinters in Nigeria, is that they grew through the flanks, from youth to being recognised names at the senior level.
Concerning this, Akintola is one of the first names that comes to mind. From being the 2018 Youth Olympics 100m Silver medallist to now being one of the poster boys in the NCAA and a significant member of the 4x100m relay squad.
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His career took a significant leap this year, when he joined Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) on a college scholarship. He immediately made his presence known by winning the C-USA 60m title in 6.72s and the 200m title in an indoor PB of 20.72s, breaking the MTSU SR that stood for seventeen years. The double feat earned the speedster the 'Freshman of the Meet Award'.
Moving outdoors, Akintola did a sprints double sweep again at the C-USA Championships by winning the 100m in a PB of 10.04s, which qualified him for the World Championships, and won the 200m in 20.36s. He would later lower this time to 20.26s at the NCAA West Preliminaries to compete at the NCAA Championships.
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At the Nigerian Championships in Benin, the brilliant runner was one of the standout performers, running a lot that weekend as the men’s 4x100m team kept pushing to crack the top 16 in the world ahead of the qualification deadline.
Moments after running his third 4x100m in 24 hours, he went on to run a 20.51s in the 200m that earned him his first senior National title. He also raced well in the 100m, taking the runner-up spot behind Favour Ashe, with a time of 10.06s in the final.
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Finally, he helped push the 4x100m team to a 38.34s time, which earned them the final qualifying spot. His efforts were unbelievably not recognised by the federation officials, as he wasn't listed on the team to the World Championships in Oregon. A decision the officials later regretted, as the men’s 4x100m team failed to finish their race in their qualifying heat.
Akintola was called for the Commonwealth Games, and though he arrived on the day of his 200m race, he still qualified from his heat and bowed out in the semi-finals. But he would later come back to run a fantastic third leg in the 4x100m final, where Nigeria won the Bronze medal, an achievement Nigeria last had at Auckland in 1990.
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His consistency over the years speaks volumes of his talent, which can be fine tuned for many years.
Udodi Onwuzuruike
Another standout NCAA college performer, Onwuzuruike, churned out record-breaking performances that catapulted him to be the best sprinter in his school's history while also putting in worthy shifts at the international level for Nigeria.
He is Stanford University’s leading light in the 100m and 200m and broke long-standing School Records (SR) in the 60m, 100m, and 200m.
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In his collegiate debut, Onwuzuruike ran a 60m freshman record of 6.78s in the prelims and lowered it to a SR of 6.67s to win the UW Indoor Preview final, putting down a strong marker on what to expect for the rest of the season.
Outdoors, the 19-year-old broke Stanford’s 100m record three times and 200m record two times. In April, he twice broke the SR and Stanford Invitational records in his collegiate 100m debuts, running 10.14s in the heats and 10.07s in the final, making him the fastest Nigerian at the time.
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Then in May, he lowered the SR further to an astonishing 10.03s and 20.08s in the 200m - another SR, ending up as the top qualifier in the 200m and second in the 100m at the NCAA West Prelims.
His 100m SR also erased Davidson Ezinwa’s NU20R of 10.05s, which stood for 32 years, while the 200m SR smashed his NU20R of 20.21s, set when winning the World Junior Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2021.
These performances made him become the first Stanford male athlete to advance to the NCAA Championships in the sprints and reach the NCAA 200m final since 1963, eventually winning the 200m Bronze medal in 20.15s.
Internationally, he competed at the Nigerian Trials for the first time in Benin, anchoring the 4x100m relay quartet to a World Championships qualifying spot with a time of 38.35s. Then at the World Championships in Oregon, he reached the 200m semifinals.
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However, his international highlight of the season came at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where he earned a sixth-place finish in the 200m final and led off Nigeria's Bronze-medal winning 4x100 relay quartet, with Akintola also a team member.
Onwuzuruike’s performances this season signify he is an athlete with so much to offer, whether as a college student, internationally representing Nigeria, or when he decides to go professional. For sure, the gifted young adult's name will be on the lips of many for his fast times years from now.
Favour Ofili
Regarded as the next force in Nigerian athletics after Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume, Ofili rose to the elite league this season, churning out her best career performances in the college circuit and representing Nigeria.
The LSU sophomore student was unbeaten outdoors before the NCAA Championships, running record-breaking times as she won the 100m and 200m titles at the SouthEastern Conference Outdoor Championships.
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Afterward, she ran a then 200m Collegiate Record of 21.96s a few weeks later, becoming the first college, Nigerian, and second African athlete to run under the 22s mark. She also ran a PB of 10.93s in the 100m plus won a 200m Silver medal at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, clocking an outstanding 22.05s.
Internationally, Ofili competed at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, where the highly rated sensation got to the World Championships 200m semifinals and ran a fantastic leg in the back straight to help the women’s 4x100m relay team earn a fourth-place finish clocking an African Record (AR) of 42.22s.
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Two weeks later in Birmingham, she won the 200m Silver medal behind Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson - her first senior international medal, while she was part of the 4x100m quartet that further took down the AR to 42.10s, winning the Commonwealth Gold medal.
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Her exceptional performances this season have seen her nicknamed ‘Star Girl' being the poster girl of Nigerian athletes in the NCAA, and many foresee her as the future queen of track of Nigeria athletics.
Favour Ashe
Not many legendary sprinters can boast of being their country’s fastest man at age 20; Ashe did that and even more this season.
Making his first indoor appearance as a college student at the University of Tennessee, he ran a PB of 6.58s in his first-ever indoor 60m race at the Bob Pollock Invitational, thus announcing his talent in the NCAA circuit.
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Weeks after this, he ran another PB and school freshman record of 6.52s, and at the NCAA Indoor Championships, clocked a faster 6.51s to win his heat (joint fourth-fastest time with Davidson Ezinwa in the all-time list in Nigeria), then won the Bronze medal in the final with 6.55s.
Outdoors, Ashe clocked a PB of 10.10s in the 100m at the War Eagle Invitational, ran a wind-aided 9.79s (+3.0) at the LSU Invitational - the fifth-fastest all-conditions time in NCAA history and fastest in Nigeria history. Then at the SouthEastern Conference Championships, he became the 100m Champion with a new PB of 10.04s.
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Ashe sealed his brilliant freshman season at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, winning the 100m Silver medal in 10.08s while helping the 4x100m relay team achieve several milestones.
Competing at the Nigerian Championships in Benin, the 20-year-old won his first National title with a new PB of 9.99s - his first legal time under the sub-10s mark, hence earning the bragging rights of 2022 Fastest Man in Nigeria.
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And competing at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games, the speedster bowed out in the 100m semifinals but ran a superb back straight leg which helped the 4X100m relay team win the Bronze medal alongside Akintola and Onwuzuruike.
His talent is one with huge prospects, and his exceptional performances this season is a testament to the fact that if he continues at this pace, Nigeria will have found another goldmine as they did with Olusoji Fasuba, the Ezinwa brothers, and other legendary sprinters in the past.
Rosemary Chukwuma
One of the leading figures in the new generation of Nigerian athletes, Chukwuma has worked her way up from the developmental stages to being a household name in the country.
From dominating the continent at youth and junior levels while winning the 2018 Youth Olympics 100m title, then going to the NCAA circuit and being a dignifying force, to now being called an AR holder and Commonwealth Champion, Chukwuma is an athlete destined for the very top.
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The Texas Tech University senior student won several conference medals and titles for her school this season, and ran a wind-aided 10.82s (2.6) back in May, which is the fastest by a Nigerian female athlete in all-conditions this year.
She clocked a 100m PB of 10.99s at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and narrowly missed a podium placement with a fourth-place finish in the final. While in the 200m, she has a PB of 22.33s, both times sitting sixth on the Nigerian all-time.
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Chukwuma competed at the World Championships and bowed out in the 200m semis. However, she was a significant member of the 4x100m relay quartet alongside Ofili, which ran an AR of 42.22s to finish fourth in the final.
Her impressive performances continued at the Commonwealth Games, as she qualified for the 100m final, placing fourth again in 11.17s - her first time competing in the final of a major championship. This was after running 11.02s and 11.05s in the heats and semis, making her the only Nigerian athlete that has hit the qualifying mark for the World Championships in Budapest next year.
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Sadly, the 21-year-old may have been unlucky to finish outside the medal zone in her major 100m races this year, but that is just a learning curve on the path to many international medals she can win in the future. After all, Tobi Amusan went through almost the same route before becoming a World Champion and Record holder.
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