Another athlete, Anita Enaruna, has joined the list of Nigerian athletes who will not participate in the 2026 World Relays in Gaborone, Botswana.

Earlier, it was reported that Nigeria’s two leading women’s 100m athletes, Rosemary Chukwuma and Blessing Ogundiran, would be missing the World Championships’ qualifiers due to different reasons, with Enaruna joining them after moving to Europe recently.

Chukwuma, who already ran a new Season Best of 10.95secs achieved at the LSU Alumni, where she won gold to become the fastest Nigerian athlete this year.Ogundiran, on the other hand, also ran a new Personal Best of 10.98 secs, taking down her previous best of 11.21secs, with Nigeria looking at the duo to help the 4x100m relay team to achieve the qualification for the World Championships.

According to information, Chukwuma missed out due to the fact that her passport was delayed at an embassy, while Ogundiran’s SRY gene test for athletes in the female category to detect the Y chromosome came out late, making it difficult for her to make the trip to Gaborone.

Team Nigeria faces a stern early test at the Championship as they line up against some of the world’s strongest relay nations across multiple events Saturday, with qualification spots for major global championships hanging and stirring them in the face.

According to the official timetable, the mixed 4x400m heats are scheduled for the afternoon session on Day One, placing Nigeria’s race among the early decisive contests of the competition.

The game will feature 743 athletes from 40 countries in attendance.

In a statement by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Chairman Media Committee, Maxwell Kumoye, on Saturday, the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, delivered a message of support from Tinubu, urging Team Nigeria to compete with pride and determination. (Channels News)

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