Charles Ogundiya 
The University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana, track was a fertile ground for Nigerian athletes at the 13th Africa Games early this year and the athletes would be looking forward to another great performance as they compete at the Region II Athletics Championship at the same venue.
The tournament is one of the remaining windows for athletes to secure their qualifications for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games that will close at midnight on June 29 with more athletes expected to punch their ticket before that day.
Some athletes already secured their tickets for the Games including some team events while some are trying their best to achieve that before the deadline and will be open to being part of the remaining meets that will give them the qualification standard.
Qualified Athletes
At the time of going to the press, 14 athletes with four relay teams already secured automatic qualification through the standard and barring any injury or any last-minute change, they were going to be wearing the green white colour of Nigeria in Paris.
Oluwatobiloba Amusan (100m hurdles, women)
Top on the list is the World Record holder in Women’s 100m hurdles, Oluwatobiloba Amusan, who will be seeking her first Olympic Games medal in Paris. Since finishing fourth at the last Games in Tokyo, the multiple African Games winner has been consistently baring a bleep period when she was having a showdown with the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) over alleged missed tests leading to her temporary suspension with the suspension lifted days before the last World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Ese Brume (Long Jump, women)
Another medal hopeful, who already secured her place in Paris is the bronze medalist at the Tokyo 2020 Games, Brume, who was the only track and field athlete to win a medal for Nigeria at the Games. She has secured a ticket for the Long Jump event and will be hopeful of repeating her podium finish in Paris when hostility begins in July.
Rosemary Chukwuma (100m, women)
US-based Rosemary Chukwuma raced to history recently in the NCAA East Regionals in Lexington, becoming the second fastest Nigerian woman in history, only behind Blessing Okagbare, after running a new Personal Best of 10.88secs, and a place at the Olympics.
Tima Godbless
Just her first year competing at the NCAA, Tima Godbless of LSU, also secured her place at the Olympics with a new Personal Best of 11.03secs at the NCAA East Regionals in Lexington.
Ella Onojuvwevwo
Ella Onojuvwevwo in May stormed to a massive Personal Best of 50.57secs in the women’s 400m at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Florida, surpassing the Olympic standard of 51.00s to make the final. With her performance, she became the first Nigerian woman since 2015 to break 51 seconds in the event, when Patience Okon-George ran 50.71secs. Other women already qualified are Favour Ofili (200m) and Ruth Usoro (Long Jump).
Favour Ashe (100m, men)
Only 14 Nigerian men have run sub 10secs in history with Favour Ashe becoming the only one to have achieved that five times, making him one of the bright chances of the country getting to the final in the event later in July. It would be recalled that Enoch Adegoke also got to the final in Tokyo and all eyes will be on Ashe in Paris.
Godson Brume (100m, men)
Godson Brume also punched his Olympic Games ticket in men’s 100m, clocking 9.99secs (+0.6) to retain his SEC Outdoor Championships title in Florida, USA.
Samuel Ogazi (400m, men)
Samuel Ogazi also booked his place in the men’s 400m at the Paris 2024 Olympics during the SEC Outdoor Championships in Florida, USA. The University of Alabama athlete punched his Olympic ticket with a Personal Best time of 44.58secs, placing second in the 400m final behind Christopher Williams. Ogazi’s time was a school record and the secondfastest in the NCAA this season. His time was also the second fastest by a Nigerian, behind Innocent Egbunike National Record of 44.17secs set at the Weltklasse Zürich meet in Letzigrund, Zürich, on August 19, 1987.
Nathaniel Ezekiel (400mh, men)
Nathaniel Ezekiel ran a new Personal Best while shattering his own National Record in the men’s 400m hurdles at the Big 12 Championships in May with an astonishing 48.00secs. He almost broke 48 seconds, defeating defending champion Caleb Dean of USA, who had to settle for 2nd in 48.43secs while Oskar Edlund was 3rd in 48.82secs and the process qualified for the Olympics.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi (Shot Put, men)
At the Hayward Field, Eugene, OR (USA) on May 25, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, achieved a new National Record of 21.91m despite already securing his place at the Olympics. The new record was short of the African Record set by Janus Robberts of South Africa which was set in 2001. Other men already through to the Olympic Games in Paris are Udodi Onwuzurike (200m), Emmanuel Bamidele (400m), and Edose Ibadin (800m).
Relays
Four out of the five relay teams secured their passage to Paris at the 2024 World Relay in the Bahamas this year with all of them finishing in the top 14. 4x100m for both men and women, 4x400m men and the 4x400m mixed relay team are all through to the Games except the 4x400m women who pulled out due to lack of enough athletes to take to the track.
Potentials
Apart from the 4x400m women who are still within the ranking standard for the remaining two spots, there are other Nigerians who are in pole positions to qualify by Ranking quotas. The likes of Temitope Adeshina (High Jump, women), Itshekiri Usheoritse (100m, men), Seye Ogunlewe (100m, men), Kanyinsola Ajayi (100m/200m, women), Chinecherem Nnamdi (Javelin, men), Chioma Onyekwere, Obiageri Amaechi and Ashley Anumba (Discus, women) and Sade Olatoye (Hammer throw, women) are all but assured of a place at the Games.
Remaining windows
Apart from the ongoing Region II championship going on in Ghana at the moment, the athletes are expected to fight for time at the 2024 National Trials scheduled to take place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, Edo State, between June 16 and 18 and also the African Championship in Cameroon scheduled for June 21 to 26 with the Olympics qualification deadline in the midnight of June 29.
What they are saying
The president of the Athletic Federation of Nigeria, Tonobok Okowa, has assured Nigerians that more athletes are going to secure their place in Paris before the deadline while also calling on well-meaning Nigerians to come to the aid of the athletes as the federation cannot do it alone.
“I am sure some of our athletes will use the opportunity of attending this competition in Accra to either seal their tickets to Paris or put the finishing touches to their preparations for our National Trials in Benin City, where we will pick athletes for the 2024 Africa Senior Athletics Championships holding in Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, and the Paris Olympics,” he said. “Sports development in a country like Nigeria cannot be left to an individual except with the involvement of corporate organisations.
“Therefore, I’m calling on all sports loving Nigerians to assist in making funds available through their foundations for sports development in the country. “We have many talented sportsmen and women that require help to develop their talents, such talents would further provide for their families and Nigeria would have fewer problems to deal with.”
He however alongside the Technical Director of the AFN, Samuel Onikeku, both agreed that Nigerians should look out for the relay teams at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Onikeku said they are going to concentrate more on the relay because that’s some of the events with potential medals in Paris while also working alongside other athletes to perform to their utmost potential.
Challenges
The major challenge that could affect the athletes, especially those schooling in the US might be fatigue as they have been competing almost every weekend for their schools and this might work against them in Paris.
Apart from burnout, one thing that might affect the team might be the issue of the Out of Competition (OCT) test as some athletes might not have the required three OCTs which will rule them out of the Games even after securing qualification
