Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Samuel Onikeku has highlighted the importance of the Country’s participation in the Confederation of African Athletes (CAA) Region 2 Championship in Ghana.

He noted that the event provides a crucial opportunity for athletes to compete, secure 2024 Paris Olympics qualification, and prepare for the final selection trials.

“The Region 2 Championship is not only for the Olympics but also to give our athletes the opportunity to compete and prepare for our trials from the 16th to 18th,” said Onikeku in an interview with Brila.net.

“So far, all the events we’ve competed in have resulted in gold medals, except for the men’s 100 meters, where we faced challenges at the start. Our athletes are doing well,” He added.

Onikeku also mentioned that Nigerian athletes in the US will be competing in the NCAA finals, while others will participate in events in New York on June 8th and 9th.

“This is an opportunity for our top athletes in Nigeria to prepare for the trials and secure more Olympic slots,” he said.

Highlighting recent successes, Onikeku noted that, “We’ve won the 4×100 meters for men and the 4×400 meters for women.

“We aim to improve their times again. This is an excellent opportunity to prepare ourselves against other countries before our trials and see how far we can go.”