Nigeria loses the 100m finals as Enekwechi wins the shot put gold.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi of Nigeria placed first in the men’s shot put final on Tuesday, earning the country’s first gold medal in the athletics competition of the ongoing 2023 African Games in Ghana, according to PUNCH Sports Extra.
With a score of 20.06 meters, the African indoor record holder successfully defended his African Games title. Mostafa Hassan (20.70 meters) and Mohamed Hamza (20.29 meters), two competitors from Egypt, came in second and third, respectively.
Emeka Ugwu, another Nigerian, competed in the final and placed fifth with a mark of 16.43 meters.
Nigeria failed to win either of the men’s or women’s 100-meter titles on Tuesday, with Olayinka Olajide taking home bronze in the women’s race and Usheoritse Itsekiri taking home silver in the men’s final.
Despite having two athletes from each of the two finals, Nigeria was not guaranteed to dominate the podium even with a strong representation of four competitors heading into the final.
Itsekiri, the 2019 Rabat bronze medallist, finished second in 10.23 seconds, while fellow countryman Consider Ekanem finished fourth in 10.42 seconds, missing the podium. Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon won the event in 10.14 seconds, and Gilbert Hainuca of Namibia took third place in 10.29 seconds.
Olajide, playing for Nigeria for the first time internationally, managed bronze in the women’s final, finishing third with 11.55s. Gina Bass of the Gambia won the race with a time of 11.36 seconds, while Maia McCoy of Liberia came in second with a time of 11.49 seconds.
Tiana Eyakpobeyan, the other Nigerian competitor in the women’s 100m final, came in fifth place with a time of 11.60 seconds.
