Okon-George targets 4x400m Olympic spot in Cameroon

Multiple African Games gold medallist with the women’s 4x400m relay team, Patience Okon-George, is confident the Nigerian quartet can qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics event at this year’s African Senior Athletics Championships, which begins on Friday (today) in Cameroon, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Okon-George, Esther Joseph, Omolara Ogunmakinju, Ela Onojuvwevwo and Esther Okon are among the 40-athlete contingent of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria to the championships, which end on Wednesday June 26.

With nine days to the end of the qualification window for the Paris Games, the quartet, which missed out on the World Relays in the Bahamas, where Nigeria’s other quartets qualified for the Olympics, is poised to complete the relays team.

Their absence in the Bahamas was hinged on visa issues for some of the athletes, including Patience Okon-George, while 2023 African Games sensational anchor leg Omolara Ogunmakinju was sidelined by an injury.

“For the time we have right now, I know that we are good to go at the African Senior Athletics Championship in Cameroon and I think we are going to drop a good time there, if not 3:24s, then 3:25s. If the four of us can split 51s each, it will be so good for us,” Okon-George said via Making of Champions.

The 32-year-old finished second in the women’s 400m at the just-concluded National Trials in Benin City in 51.76s but she was delighted by the rise of younger athletes like winner Esther Joseph who won the race in a time of 51.70s.

“I’m very happy because right from time I have been looking forward to us making a strong comeback in the women’s 400m. When I stepped into track and field there were lots of people running 51s at that time. The younger ladies are now running good times as well and I pray that God gives them the grace to hang on.”

Each member of the quartet will also be running the women’s 400m flat in Cameroon to punch their individual tickets to Paris.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s star-studded contingent to the African Championships includes world record holder in women’s 100m hurdles Tobi Amusan, sprint sensation Favour Ofili, Ese Brume, Temitope Adeshina and Chioma Onyekwere.

Others are Favour Ashe, Chidi Okezie, new men’s 400m champion Dubem Amene and new 100m national champion Kanyinsola Ajayi.