Chidera Ezeakor (second to the right) beats Enoch Adegoke (second to the left) to men's 100m gold at Gateway Games | Photo credits: Making of Champions
Chidera Ezeaku of Team Edo is the champion of the men’s 100 meters race at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival in Ogun.
The 20-year-old blitzed to the finish line in 10.27 seconds to stun Enoch Adegoke in the final held on Saturday at the Moshood Abiola Sports Arena in Abeokuta.
Adegoke, a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics, finished second just ahead of Emmanuel Taiwo of Rivers.
Favour Ashe, a semifinalist at the Paris Olympics, was lined up for the final, but he was disqualified before the race began.
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Speaking after his victory, Ezeaku said his next target is to get into the Nigerian team for the upcoming 2025 World Athletics Championships in Japan.
“I can say that I was well prepared for the sports festival, what I need to win the race is to get good from the blocks and maintain the first 60 seconds and off I go,” he said.
“I have gone through lots of training with my coach which is not an easy one, I really need to get this done which eventually came through.
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“I am not scared of any of the athletes, what I will do now is to go home and get my body fixed to push further.
“This time around it is a great future for me, I not under any pressure, I just need to be focused get everything done and am good.
“The next thing for me now is the world championship and that is my focus for now.”
The women’s 100 meters crown was clinched by Kate Odumosu of Team Delta ahead of Success Umokoro.
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Odumosu finished in 11.44 seconds, followed by Umukoro in 11.55 seconds, while Iyanuoluwa Bada of Ogun State won bronze in 11.58 seconds.
