Ashe, Onwuzurike, other sprinters seek repeat of 2023 historic feat

With the outdoor athletics season in full swing, the Nigerian trio of Favour Ashe, Udodi Onwuzurike and Godson Oghenebrume will be keen to repeat the history they made on the track last year when, for the first time in history, three Nigerian sprinters broke 10 seconds in the 100m event.

The best Nigerians have ever had were two men running inside 10 seconds in a single season as seen in 1992 by Davidson Ezinwa (9.96) and Olopade Adeniken (9.97). The duo also made it in 1994 (9.94) and (9.95) respectively.

The feat was achieved in 2003 by Deji Aliu (9.95) and Uchenna Emedolu (9.97), while Divine Oduduru (9.86) and Raymond Ekevwo (9.96) reached that level in 2019.

All eyes will be on the trio now when they seek to equal their record as they also go head-to-head for honours. Ashe, the 2022 Nigeria 100m champion, has already laid down the gauntlet, running inside the mark in 100m twice this year, surpassing his record of 2022 and 2023 when he legally ran sub-10 seconds just once each.

The Auburn University undergraduate student will be looking to extend that personal record of two sub-10 seconds in a season as he eyes a place in the 100m final at the Olympics.

The 21-year-old will also be seeking to get the better of the duo of Oghenebrume and Onwuzurike, whom he has tied on head-to-head confrontations since they both ran into national and collegiate prominence in 2022.

According tosportsNow.com, Ashe is tied 5-5 on head-to-head clashes with Oghenebrume with the Louisiana State University undergraduate student winning their last two confrontations last year.

He is also tied 1-1 with Onwuzurike with the latter winning at the NCAA Division 1 final last season to avenge his loss at the Nigerian Championships in 2022.

Oghenebrume is