By Monica Iheakam
The performances of Nigerian women at the just concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham have earned them placements at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
According to the qualification standards as released by World Athletics, the quartet of Ese Brume, Favor Ofili, Rosemary Chukwuma and Grace Nwokocha have all scaled through to the Budapest championship.
With the qualification period for Budapest 2023 running from July 30, 2022 to July 30, 2023, it means performances achieved at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham fall within the qualification period.
This is even as reigning world champion in 100m hurdles Tobi Amusan enjoys a wild card entry for the global showpiece thanks to her world record-breaking 12.06 seconds in Oregon USA.
Ese Brume sailed through after making history in Birmingham as the first woman in Games history to hit the 7m mark with her 7.00m gold-winning performance.
This also means the sprint trios of Grace Nwokocha, Rosemary Chukwuma and Favour Ofili have also secured qualification to compete in Budapest.
Nwokocha ran 10.99 seconds in Birmingham while Chukwuma ran 11.02 seconds which are both inside the 11.08 qualification standard set for the women’s 100m event. Ofili’s 22.51 seconds performance in the 200m which fetched her silver medal in the women’s 200m at the Commonwealth Games has also secured her a lane in Budapest subject to meeting any other qualification hurdle set by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN.
The time falls within the 22.60 seconds set by World Athletics for the half-lap race.