Former President of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Solomon Ogba, expects that Team Nigeria’s relay teams at the Lagos Invitational would be different from the one that participated in the National Trials on Sunday at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).
The teams failed to take advantage of the AFN Olympic Trials and Invitational Relays at YABATECH to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, but they now have one last opportunity to make amends.
Three African countries, Senegal, Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire, who participated in the Invitational Relays at YABATECH, will also feature in the one-day Lagos Invitational holding at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
Four out of the five relay teams that Team Nigeria is hoping to present at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will get the final chance to get their tickets to the quadrennial event. Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay team is the only team that has provisionally qualified for the 2020 Olympics.
Ogba, who is the vice president of Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), said that the relay teams, particularly the men’s and women’s 4x100m squads, would book their ticket.
“Our women’s 4x100m team is sure of the ticket and I am very sure the men’s 4x100m will join them on Thursday (tomorrow),” Ogba said. “The other three teams (men and women’s 4x400m and the mixed 4x400m relay) can pull a big surprise on Thursday.”