Nigeria Breaks Mixed 4×100m African Record, Book Beijing Ticket at World Relays

 By Eniola Olagunju 

Nigeria's mixed 4x100m relay team produced the performance of the weekend at the 2026 World Athletics Relays in Gaborone, Botswana, on Saturday, May 2, obliterating the African record and securing direct qualification for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing, even as other relay events painted a more complicated picture for the nation.

The quartet of Favour Ashe, Jennifer Chukwuka-Obi, Chidera Ezeakor, and Maria Thompson delivered a composed and explosive performance in Heat 1 at the Sir Seretse Khama National Stadium in Gaborone, Botswana, clocking 40.24 seconds, a new African record and a stunning 1.20-second improvement on the continental mark they had set just two months ago.

Nigeria were drawn in a fierce Heat 1 field that included Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, three of the most decorated sprint relay nations in the world but answered every challenge with precision and pace. Canada took the heat with a blistering 40.07 seconds, a time initially celebrated as a new world record before Jamaica erased it minutes later in a subsequent heat. Germany followed in 40.15 seconds, with the Netherlands placing third in 40.20 seconds. Nigeria crossed in fourth, but their time was more than sufficient, ranking them among the fastest non-automatic qualifiers and sealing their place in both the final and the 2027 World Athletics Championships in China.

The final of the mixed 4x100m is scheduled for Sunday at 4:05pm Nigerian time.

The significance of Saturday's run cannot be overstated. Nigeria had set the previous African record; 41.44 seconds at the Lefika International Relays, also in Gaborone, just in March. That performance had moved them from 22nd to 12th in the global qualification standings and earned them recognition from World Athletics as a genuine emerging force in the relatively new discipline. To return to the same city two months later and shatter that mark by more than a second signals not a moment of brilliance, but the arrival of a programme in motion.

What adds further weight to the achievement is the context in which it was delivered. Nigeria were without three of their more experienced athletes; Blessing Ogundiran, Rosemary Chukwuma, and Anita Enaruna, all of whom withdrew late from the team. The quartet that ran the record did so without the safety net of their most battle-tested names. It was, in every sense, a performance drawn from depth.

Heading into Sunday's final, Nigeria sit fifth overall behind Jamaica, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, positioning them as credible contenders for a podium finish at a global meet for the first time in the event's short history.

The afternoon, however, was not without its disappointments.

In the men's 4x100m, the quartet of Favour Ashe, James Taiwo Emmanuel, Tejiri Godwin, and Ezeakor who had already featured in the mixed relay clocked a season-best of 38.31 seconds, but it was only enough for fifth place in their heat. The time was insufficient to advance to the final automatically, and Nigeria will need to reassess their baton exchange margins and race execution if they are to remain competitive in that event going forward.

The women's 4x100m provided the sharpest contrast of the day. Depleted by the same late withdrawal of Ogundiran, Chukwuma, and Enaruna, athletes whose absence thinned the pool of available sprinters considerably the women's squad could not complete their heat following a baton exchange error. It was a painful result for a programme that has historically carried more pride in the women's sprints than anywhere else. Team officials will know that the baton exchange must be drilled ahead of any future campaign.

In the 4x400m events, Nigeria's mixed team finished third in their heat, while the men running Gafari Badmus, Emmanuel Ifeanyi Ojeli, Victor Sampson, and Ezekiel Asuquo posted a season-best of 3:01.04 but could do no better than sixth place. The women's 4x400m squad, relatively youthful and still building cohesion, produced a season-best of 3:30.71 in their heat.

All three 4x400m teams, along with the men's 4x100m, retain opportunities on Sunday through the repechage. The format grants non-qualifiers a second chance at the heats, and Nigeria will be expected to push for the spots that could take them to Beijing and, for the top six finishers in certain events, to the debut World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this September.

The competition, which runs from May 2 to 3, brings together 24 federations across six relay disciplines. Qualification points and automatic berths for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing are on offer throughout the weekend, raising the stakes of every race well beyond Gaborone.

For Nigeria, Saturday offered both a reminder of what this programme is capable of and a sober accounting of where the gaps remain. The mixed 4x100m unit gave the country reason to stand up.

The other events left work to be done. Sunday will tell the fuller story.