By Gracious Akujobi Some of the country’s top athletes will don the green and white colours at the Penn Relays holding from April 24 to 26 in Philadelphia in the United States.
It will be recalled that the team also featured in the Mt. Sac Relay in California less than a week ago.
The Nigerian athletes are set to rub shoulders with some of the best in the world as more than 60 countries around the globe have athletes competing in the event which is said to have more than 22,000 entrants annually.
The AFN President, Solomon Ogba who is with the team in the US stated further that the relays will be used to analyze and better the performances of the athletes ahead of the IAAF Relays in the Bahamas, the Commonwealth Games and African Senior Athletics Championships respectively.
The team under the tutelage of former world and Olympic champion, Maurice Greene will feature in the elite category of the men and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m events. Greene who was recently employed by the AFN as the Team Nigeria relay coordinator will be with the squad until after the African Championships in Morocco.
The male athletes will go against star studded teams such as Jamaica, the US, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts & Nevis, Brazil and China while their female colleagues will contend with the likes of Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and the US.
Some of the athletes expected to participate include Gloria Asumnu, Obinna Metu, Amaechi Morton, Regina George, Nicholas Imhoapermhe, Noah Akwu and Abiola Onakoya. Others are Isah Salihu, Orukpe Erayokan, Stephanie Kalu, Peace Uko, Omolara Omotosho, Bukola Abogunloko, Folashade Abugan, and Josephine Ehigie.
