The second season of the MTN CHAMPS School Athletics Championships in Jos is witnessing a display of exceptional talent and record-breaking performances.
Miracle Oluebube Ezechukwu, a standout from Season 1 representing Nigerian Tulip International School, Abuja, returned triumphantly.
The sprinter shattered her personal best (PB) with a stunning 11.75s in the U20 women’s 100m semifinal heat.
This not only improved her previous PB by nearly two-tenths of a second (11.91s) but also made her the first athlete at MTN Champs to achieve the World U20 Championships qualification standard (11.78s) in the 100m category!
Ezechukwu’s dominance continued as she broke the MTN Champs 100m record (11.82s), previously set by Rosemary Edet in Season 1.
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She secured gold with a time of 11.81s, followed by teammate Chigozie Nwankwo (silver, 12.02s) who achieved her first sub-12s finish in the semifinals (11.95s). Ojone Akubo-Adegbe claimed the bronze medal (12.38s).
Rising stars
The competition saw a surge of young talent across different categories. Divinefavour Okisamen (10.79s), Sasere Taiwo (10.93s), and Enoch Dabo (10.94s) dominated the Junior Boys’ 100m, while Adaeze Eze (12.34s) and Mercy Ogbonna (12.67s) emerged victorious in the Youth Girls’ 100m after achieving personal bests. Kenneth Onyeji (11.73s) secured gold in the Youth Boys’ 100m.
Favour Okaro, Vera Thomas, and Deborah Ochapa were the top three finishers in the women’s 100m open category. Yusuf Muhammed Kabir dominated the men’s 100m with a time of 10.69s, followed by Emmanuel Peters Aki (10.77s) and Emmanuel Adekanola (10.90s). Victories in the Cadet categories went to Benjamin Iliya (Boys’) and Bernice Onoriode (Girls’).
Comfort Sule displayed remarkable consistency by shaving off a fraction of a second from her previous 400m personal best (55.58s) to claim the Junior Girls’ title. Alphonsus Akwaga (49.41s) led the way in the Junior Boys’ 400m, while Temitope Olusesan (57.78s) and Onome Okozi emerged victorious in the women’s and men’s open categories respectively.
The Youth and Cadet races also witnessed impressive performances, with Emeka Nwoke, Izang Igyem, Anah Sunday (Boys’), Juliet Ikhianosimhe (Girls’), Stephanie Obieke (Girls’), and Musa Abdulgaffar (Boys’) claiming top honours in their respective 400m races.
Field Events
Best Amtu secured the Youth Boys’ Javelin throw title with a personal best of 38.19m. Shaibu Rufai of Diamond Ray not only secured gold in the Discus throw but also grabbed a silver medal in the Javelin throw.
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