Nigeria’s young athletes delivered an outstanding performance on the opening day of the ongoing Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U18/U20 Region II Championships in Dakar, Senegal, finishing with an impressive haul of eight gold and six silver medals.

Region II is the West African region of the CAA.

A statement by Kola Oredipe, a board member and Auditor of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) on Sunday disclosed that the country’s dominance was most evident on the track, as sprinters swept several titles across the U-18 and U-20 categories.

“In the U20 men’s 100m, Tejiri Godwin stormed to gold in 10.35 seconds, while Bright Gift claimed the U18 boys’ title after clocking 10.41 seconds.

“The female sprinters matched the men’s exploits as Lucy Nwankwo won the U20 women’s 100m gold in 11.41 seconds.

“Rosemary Chigozie added another gold in the U18 girls’ 100m with a winning time of 11.35 seconds, while Tejiri Ugoh secured the silver medal in the same event.

“Team Nigeria then continued its medal-winning run in the 400m races.

Oredipe also stated that Faith Ezechukwu captured gold in the U-18 women’s event, with teammate Jecinter Lawrence finishing second to complete a one-two finish.

“David Udoh also contributed to the tally by winning silver in the U-18 men’s 400m.

``In the middle-distance event, Gang James Boyi from Plateau State emerged victorious in the U-20 men’s 1500m to claim another gold medal for Team Nigeria.

“The field events also produced impressive performances. Success Okeleke struck gold in the U20 men’s discus with a throw of 47.10m.

“Emmanuel Shakamomodu Audu secured silver with 47.00m to complete a Nigerian one-two finish. Audu later returned to win gold in the shot put, with Okeleke taking silver,’’ he said.

Oredipe added that Adaeze Ezeh rounded off the day’s podium finishes by earning silver in the U18 women’s long jump with a leap of 5.67m.

Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President and CAA Region II President, Tonobok Okowa, expressed delight with the team’s impressive start, describing the performances as proof of the country’s bright future in athletics.

Okowa commended the athletes, coaches and officials for their efforts and reaffirmed the federation’s commitment to grassroots talent development.

With the championships nearing its end Team Nigeria will be aiming to build on its strong opening-day performance and add more medals to its tally.

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