Ekanem relishes 200m win as AFN opens Africa Games camp in Abuja

A day after he was ejected from the 100m final due to a false start, rave of the moment, sprinter Consider Ekanem, won the men’s 200m of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) African Games trials, which ended at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, yesterday.

It was smooth sailing for Ekanem, as he finished in 20.60 seconds, beating Sunday Okon to the second place. Okon, who had earlier won the 100m, clocked 20.95 seconds, while Oritseweyimi Daje Lucky was third with 21.26 seconds.

“I’m excited by the 200m victory after the disappointment in the 100m,” Ekanem, who is the current World lead in 100m said. “I came here to run under 10 seconds, but it didn’t happen that way. A lot of my fans felt disappointed. They came to me to find out what went wrong, but I am happy I made up for it.”

In the women’s 200m race, Olayinka Olajide completed a double with another clear performance. She posted 23.24 seconds, while Precious Nzeakor and Chisom Onyebuchi finished in 23.31 and 24.00 seconds respectively.

“Winning a double was my plan coming here and I feel so fulfilled. Next is the African Games. We just have to go back and train towards it,” said Olajide, who won the 100m title on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, home-based track and field athletes are expected to join the Africa Games camp in Abuja today. The camp was opened on February 15, but the AFN had to organise its national trials to pick the team for the Games holding in Accra, Ghana from March 8.