Nigeria loses U-20 mixed 4x100m records after disqualification

Nigeria has lost both its African and national under-20 records in the mixed 4x100m relay. The disqualification occurred at the World Athletics U-20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon, after officials ruled the team used unauthorised equipment.

The quartet consisting of Tejiri Godwin, Chigozie Rosemary Nwankwo, Perfect Faye, and Miracle Ezechukwu initially finished fourth in the final. They recorded a time of 41.77 seconds, a mark that had stood as a new continental and national junior record. However, the result was overturned because Perfect Faye wore spikes that were not included on the World Athletics approved list.

During the race, Miracle Ezechukwu ran a 9.89-second anchor leg to move the Nigerian team from seventh place up to fourth. Despite this performance, the technical violation resulted in the erasure of their times from the record books.

In the same final, Italy secured the gold medal with a world under-20 record of 41.21 seconds. Great Britain took second place in 41.38 seconds, while the United States finished third with a time of 41.39 seconds.

The loss of the records marks a difficult beginning for Nigeria at the World U-20 Athletics Championships in Eugene.