1 month ago
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Nigeria sprinter and member of the women’s 4x100m team to the 2024 Paris Olympics Games, Justina Eyakpobeyan says she is fully ready to make the country proud in what will be her first appearance at the Games, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The 17-year-old has been a crucial part of Nigeria women’s 4x100m relay winning the African Games in March, the African Championships in June and also qualified for the Olympics at the World Relays in the Bahamas in May.
She is currently with the athletics team in the German city of Saarbrucken where they are preparing for the Games.
“It’s not an easy job to make the Olympic team, so being able to get here, I’m so grateful to God,” Eyakpobeyan told DW.
“I am 100 per cent ready because last season I raced at the World Championships and this season too, I also went to Budapest to qualify with the girls for the 4x100m so I think I am prepared for what is coming.”
The women’s 4x100m relay team has been adjudged as the strongest of the four relay teams Nigeria will be fielding at the Games, having won all their events this year.
They started with aplomb at the African Games in Ghana, where Tobi Amusan anchored the team to gold in a time of 43.05s ahead of Liberia (44.02s) and hosts Ghana in 44.21s.
At the World Relays in the Bahamas, Eyakpobeyan ran the first leg for Nigeria, handing over to Favour Ofili who also ran a smooth back straight before handing the baton to Olayinka Olajide who sent Tima Godbless firing down on anchor as Nigeria finished first in the repechage race in a time of 42.71s, sealing their spot in Paris as such.
A month later, she also ran the first leg with a bullet start during the final of the African Championships in Cameroon where Nigeria won their third consecutive title.
Although she didn’t qualify to run in the women’s 100m, she has a personal best of 11.24s (+0.9) which she set at the Making of Champions Grand Prix in Lagos, winning the keenly contested final ahead of her 4x100m teammate, Olajide.
English (US) ·