Okagbare, other Nigerian athletes impress at various U.S. Athletic Meets

There were a lot of athletic competitions in the United States of America last weekend with some Nigerians participating and performing very well in them.

The best performance of the weekend came from one of Nigeria’s most decorated Track and Field athletes, Blessing Okagbare.

Okagbare, 32, clinched the 60m title for the second time this season at the American Track League hosted by Paul Doyle- Owner of Doyle Sports Management.

Okagbare equaled her previous Personal Best of 7.17s in the heat, lowered it to a scorching 7.10s in the final for the win, which ranks her number two in the world this year.

She also won her 200m heat with another Personal Best time of 23.01s. Her first indoor full lap race in 10 years and she will be confident, taking this form outdoors.

After Okagbare signed with the kit company, Puma, she moved to Florida to train with the Tumbleweed Track Club, a renowned Athletics club known for some great athletes.

Divine Oduduru and Charles Okezie were also at the meet where they finished fifth and sixth respectively in the men’s 60m heat. Divine was in heat 1 while Okeze ran in heat 2.

Chidi Okezie was at the East Coast Invitational where he finished third in the men’s 200m, clocking 21.36s while earning a fifth place in the 60m with 6.84s.

Away from the Pros, the collegiate athletes are also putting up commendable results in their different regions.

Kansas State University athlete, Anigbata Grace, leapt to an Indoor Personal Best of 13.61m to win the Women’s Triple Jump at the Arkansas Qualifier. This mark ranks her No.3 on her school’s all-time list.

Still in the jumps, Joseph Edafiadhe recorded yet another Personal Best in the Long Jump as he leapt to 7.89m to secure the win at the Buccaneer Track & Field Invitational. In the process, he broke Newman-Carson University’s 44-year-old record of 7.61m. This performance ranks him No.1 in Nigeria & in the NCAA Division II and 24th on the World ranking.

At the South Carolina Invitational, three Nigerians were billed to compete but African Games 100m champion, Raymond Ekevwo, pulled out of the Men’s 60m. Knowledge Omovoh clocked 54.47s to finish seventh overall in the 400m while Isaac Odugbesan of the University of Alabama threw a distance of 19.33m to win the Men’s Shot-Put event.

C-USA 60mh Champion, Bashiru Abdullahi, posted 7.88s to qualify for the final where he lowered it to 7.80s at the Charlie Thomas Invitational for a third place finish. The time also equaled his school record and the time was just 0.05s shy off his Personal Best of 7.75s which he set in 2019.

Umukoro Success and Onaara Obamuwagu were at the Angelo State Indoor Meet. Umukoro posted 7.65s in the 600m to rank third overall, 25.07s to rank fourth overall in the 200m as she helped her team secure the 4x400m Gold medal with a time of 3:57.37s. Onaara hopped, stepped and jumped 13.23m to take the win in the Women’s Triple Jump.

It is expected that more Nigerian athletes will feature in next weekend’s round of competitions.