Sports Festival: Edo dominates first day of athletics, sprints finals set for Saturday

HOST Edo State won two gold medals on Friday to take an early lead in track and field on the event’s first day at the 20th National  Sports Festival in Benin City.

The duo of Fadekemi Olude (1:40.05) and Dele Elegbede (1:42.16) gave Edo gold medals in athletics by winning the women’s and men’s 20km walk respectively.                             

Delta State, through Ibrahim Baba (46.39m), won gold in the men’s hammer throw while Utitofon James (48.36m) won the women’s discus throw.  

Rivers State picked its first gold in athletics through sprint hurdler Grace Aiyemoba who ran 13.65 seconds to win the 100m hurdles while Oyeniyi Abejoye picked the men’s 110m hurdles (13.79 seconds) for Lagos’ first gold medal of the competition.                           

Rose Akusho completed the gold medal haul for the opening day, running 17:13.95 seconds to win the 5000m event for Plateau state.                         

The second day of athletics, Saturday, will witness two blockbuster races, the men and women’s 100m final.                                        

In the latter, Delta State’s Grace Nwokocha will be favourite to win after setting an impressive personal best of 11.09 seconds in March.

The time is the fastest ever run on Nigerian soil by a home-based athlete in over two decades and the fastest since Blessing Okagbare ran 11.02 seconds to win the 100m gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games trials in Sapele.                       

Nwokocha is expected to have the trio of Ese Brume (11.69),Praise Ofoku (11.67) and Joy Udo-Gabriel (11.66) challenging for the silver and bronze medals for Team Delta and Team Lagos respectively.

 In the men’s 100m, Ushoritse Itshekiri is back to defend his title, and will have veteran sprinter and two-time national champion, Ogho-Oghene Egwero, Favour Ashe who raced to a surprise 10.17 seconds personal best last month in Lagos, and the pre-Festival national leader, Enoch Adegoke of Edo State to contend with.