Seventeen athletes from the recently concluded 2nd Niger Delta Games in Benin City, Edo State, have achieved qualifying marks for the World Athletics U-20 Championships scheduled to hold in the United States later this year.

The interim technical report, submitted to World Athletics, the National Sports Commission (NSC), and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), confirmed the performances across track and field events.

Technical Director of the Games, Sydney Olympic Games gold medalist Enefiok Udo-Obong, disclosed that the qualifiers include four boys and 13 girls.

Among the standout performances were Delta State sprinters Chibueze Osama and Godswill Sunday, who clocked 10.42sec and 10.44sec respectively to surpass the 100m qualifying time of 10.50 seconds.

Bright Gift of Akwa Ibom matched the 200m standard with 21.25seconds, while Edo’s Oseiwe Salami Ahusimenre cleared the 400m hurdles mark with 51.75 seconds.

On the women’s side, Delta’s Ejiro Peter led the 100m qualifiers with 11.58 seconds, joined by Tejiri Ugoh Praise, Azeez Zainab, and Victory Imoisemen Azobudi.

Ejiro Peter, who hails from Ethiope-West Local Council of Delta State, also excelled in the 200m alongside Praise and Faith Chukwuma, all running faster than the 24.35 seconds benchmark.

In the 400m, six athletes from Delta, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, and Bayelsa dipped under the 55.20 seconds standard, while Delta’s Mary Innocent qualified in the 400m hurdles. Favour Olise capped the list with a 6.33m leap in the long jump, surpassing the 6.22m requirement.

Udo-Obong emphasised that the Niger Delta Games now serves as an official qualifying platform recognised by World Athletics.

Udo-Obong, who is Technical Advisor to the Royal Saudi Arabia Athletics, said: “It is now left to the authorities in Nigeria to decide if the country will be participating, and if yes, there is no reason these athletes can’t be entered.”

Meanwhile, one of World Athletics Entry Rules for the World U-20 Championships says only athletes aged 16, 17, 18, and 19 on December 1, 2026 (born in 2010, 2009, 2008 or 2007) may compete in the competition.