The 19th Africa Athletics Championships (AAC) scheduled to hold in Marrakech, Morocco will get underway today with Team Nigeria looking set to defend the title they won two years ago in Porto Novo, Benin Republic.
The Nigerian contingent who are already in Morocco ahead of the opening ceremony, are made up of athletes that did the nation proud at the just-concluded Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games in Scotland.
The contingent comprising 30 athletes, 16 women and 14 men is led by the newly-crowned Commonwealth Games sprint double champion, Blessing Okagbare. Okagbare set a new Commonwealth Games women’s 100m record of 10.85 secs in Glasgow and will compete for Team Nigeria in the 100m, 200m, and the 4x100m events at the Marrakech Games.
Top Nigerian female athletes like Gloria Asumnu, Lawretta Ozoh, Dominique Duncan, Deborah Odeyemi, Justina Sule, Regina George and Weyinmi Lindsay all made Team Nigeria’s contingent to Marrakech.
Team Nigeria won 2012 edition in Porto Novo with a total of 10 gold, six silver and five bronze medals, beating Kenya to second spot with nine gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals. South Africa, the 2008 champions came third with six gold, 10 silver and eight bronze medals.
Nigeria set a total of three championships and one African record in Porto Novo with Chukwuemeka topping her 17.60m championships record set in Tunis in 2002, the first time she was crowned African champions in the event with an African-record setting 18.86m. Blessing Okagbare also erased Chioma Ajunwa’s 6.78m record with a new 6.96m record while the women’s 4x400m relay team erased the 3:29.26 record set by the quartet of Shade Abugan, Margaret Etim, Bukola Abogunloko and Ajoke Odumosu four years ago in Nairobi.
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