Adegoke, Nwokocha are best sprinters at AFN Classics

It was thrills and glamour at the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) Classics in Ado Ekiti at the weekend, as Enoch Adegoke secured victory ahead of Ogho-Oghene Egwero in the men’s 100m final, winning in 10.50s. Egwero finished second in 10.55s with Idjesa Uruemu coming in third with a time of 10.62s.

In the women’s race, Nwokocha Nzubechi Grace beat all contenders to the 100m title in a time of 11.38 seconds to emerge the overall Best Athlete of the Classics.
Two weeks ago, Nwokocha raced to a Personal Best (PB) of 11.52s while competing in the 100m heats at the Akure All-Comers. This time around at Ado Ekiti, she sped to another PB of 11.37s (0.0) to extend her winning streak on the domestic scene.

Following her impressive performance, Nwokocha was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the meet. She also got a cash reward of N50,000 for her efforts, courtesy of former sprinter and Beijing 2008 4x100m Silver Medallist, Damola Osayomi, who hails from Ekiti State.

Praise Idamadudu finished second in the women’s 100m race in 11.59s, (PB), while Praise Ofoku was third in 11.80s.In the men’s 200m final, Emmanuel Ojeli won in a time of 21.06s., John Clifford ran a Personal Best of 21.55s to finish second, while Ayomide Oyetunji finished third in 21.62s.

In the women’s 200m final, Favour Ofili won in a time of 23.44s. She inspired Anita Taviore to a new PB of 23.56s to finish second, as Esther Okon settled for third position in 24.13s.

The women’s 400m was a battle of superiority between Ofili and Idamadudu. The duo had a photo finish race, forcing the technical officials into long consultations. At the end, Ofili was declared winner by a margin of 0.01s, picking the first position with a SB of 52.54s. Idamadudu was second in 52.55 secs, while Blessing Ovwighoadjebre was third in 54.40s.

Adeyemi Sikiru won in the men’s 400m in 47.02s, just as Daniel Atinaya, who started well in Lane settled for second place in 47.18s, with Atanda Akindele placing third in 47.55s.

Timothy Emoghene was the man to beat in the 400m Hurdles, where he raced to an SB of 50.51s, just 0.05s off his PB to win the race ahead of David Olowookeere, who ran an SB of 51.69s to finish second while Henry Okorie was third, also with an SB of 51.75s.

Oluwakemi Francis clocked an SB of 14.12s to win the women’s 100m Hurdles, beating Miracle Thompson, who ran a new PB of 14.41s to finish second. Hope Idhe was third in the race with a time of 14.60s.

In the men’s 110m Hurdles, Oyeniyi Abejoye was pushed all the way to the finish to a Season’s Best (SB) of 13.96s for the title ahead of Samuel Osadolor who placed second.

Joseph Edafiadhe jumped the farthest distance he has ever achieved in his career, winning the men’s Long Jump with a new Personal Best of 7.80m. He was also named the second best performer at the Ekiti Classics.

In the men’s Triple Jump, Zola Nzube leapt to victory with an SB of 15.57m, as Destiny Udumebraye finished second with a mark of 15.19m and Blessing Oluwayemi third, jumping a distance of 15.16m. Ibrahim Baba landed a mark of 49.30m to claim victory in the men’s Hammer throw, consistently throwing marks that were over 45m.