Favour Ashe delivered one of the greatest sprint performances ever witnessed on Nigerian soil on Tuesday, storming to a personal best of 9.93 seconds to win the men’s 100 metres title at the Commonwealth Games Trials in Lagos.
The performance, achieved with a legal wind reading of +0.5m/s, made Ashe the fastest Nigerian man ever on home soil and capped a historic final at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex.
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Nicholas Fakorede finished second in a personal best of 9.98 seconds, while Chidera Ezeakor also produced a lifetime best of 10.03 seconds to place third.
The race entered Nigerian athletics history as Ashe and Fakorede became the first Nigerian sprinters to break the 10-second barrier in the same race since Deji Aliu and Uchenna Emedolu achieved the feat in Abuja in 2003.
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Tejiri Godwin finished fourth in a personal best of 10.20 seconds, while Enoch Adegoke placed fifth in 10.27 seconds.
Ashe had earlier hinted at his readiness for the title after clocking 9.97 seconds in the semifinals, albeit with an illegal wind reading of +2.3m/s. The performance was the first sub-10-second run on Nigerian soil under all conditions since Ashe himself ran 9.99 seconds in 2022.
The men’s 100m final provided a fitting climax to three days of competition that also produced several impressive performances across the track and field events.
After finishing on Monday behind Blessing Ogundiran, who reclaimed the women’s 100m title in 11.12 seconds, Miracle Ezechukwu returned to the track on Tuesday to win the women’s 200 metres title in a personal best of 22.77 seconds.
Tejiri Ugoh finished second in the women’s 200m in 23.28 seconds, while Chigozie Rosemary Nwankwo claimed third place in 23.40 seconds.
In the one-lap events, Tyler Johnson emerged as the new Nigerian men’s 400m champion after producing a strong finish to win in 45.75 seconds on his debut on Nigerian soil.
Victory Achakpoekri took second place in 45.91 seconds, narrowly ahead of Emmanuel Ojeli, who finished third in 45.94 seconds. Chidi Okezie placed fourth in 46.25 seconds.
Veteran quarter-miler Patience Okon-George underlined her enduring class by winning her sixth national 400m title. She crossed the line in 51.85 seconds ahead of Taiwo Kudoro, who finished second in 52.30 seconds.
Faith Ezechukwu continued her impressive season by setting another personal best of 53.12 seconds to finish third.
Comfort James also strengthened her dominance in the women’s 800 metres, claiming her fifth national title with a time of 2:07.91.
Aminat Alabi placed second in 2:11.48, while Grace Onah completed the podium in 2:11.86.
In the hurdles, Oseiwe Salami successfully defended his men’s 400m hurdles title with a personal best of 51.25 seconds, improving his previous mark by almost four-tenths of a second.
Daniel Ovie Possible finished second in a personal best of 52.40 seconds, while Eze Owoh took third place in 52.55 seconds.
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Nyenuchi Okemgbo won the women’s 400m hurdles title on her debut on Nigerian soil, clocking 59.01 seconds. Mary Innocent produced a personal best of 59.54 seconds to finish second, while Esther Nwankwo came third in 1:00.24.
In the field events, Divine Oladipo retained her women’s shot put title with a winning throw of 16.90 metres, her second-best mark of the season.
Her victory came a day after Olympian Chukwuebuka Enekwechi secured a record fifth national men’s shot put title with a throw of 21.46 metres.
With several personal bests, national titles and historic performances recorded in Lagos, the Commonwealth Games Trials provided a strong indication of a good showing for Team Nigeria in Glasgow.
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